Yo-kai Watch Adventures
by Talespinner69
Summary: This is what results when yo-kai activity takes place two years before certain familiar students of Springdale Elementary are normally expected to wander to the sacred tree on Mount Wildwood, and when two different youths get ahold of Yo-kai Watches. To be safe, this story is rated T for teen (although it may pass for K plus).
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter one: Enter! Kira the Snake!

Summer Break had just started in the city of Springdale, and although some of the particularly studious students were using all of their free time to do school-related work, as a whole, the youth of Springdale was using the time off of their classes as children their age should. Boys were out bug hunting, girls were talking about the latest new fashion trend…you know, the whole package.

Nathan 'Nate' Adams, your typical run-of-the-mill eleven-year-old boy, woke up on the morning of his first official day of Summer Break. Getting himself up out of bed, Nate walked downstairs to the bathroom of his family's house in Uptown Springdale. However, before he got to the bathroom, he heard some noises coming from the kitchen area. Deciding to take a detour, Nate went out into the kitchen, only to stop short upon seeing a sight that had become increasingly common as of late.

Sighing in a resigned tone, Nate thought, " _I_ ' _m going to have to go over this with Eddie and Bear when I meet up with them later_."

* * *

Barnaby Bernstein and Edward Archer, otherwise known by their nicknames of Bear and Eddie respectively, were two of Nate's closest friends, if not his two best friends. As such, they would always be willing to listen to Nate's problems as well as always offer their support; this is especially true of Bear, even though most people wouldn't even consider Bear having such a big heart. Bear's appearance, which made him look like something of a bully, is the leading cause of people outside of Bear's family and friends to not have a lot of faith in Bear.

"She's doing it _again_ , Nate?" Eddie asked, his expression a mix of genuine shock and mild worry.

Nodding in the affirmative, Nate said, "I have no idea what's causing it, though."

"Maybe some of those ghost-thingies are making her do it," Bear suggested as he held up his right index finger.

"…You mean yo-kai?" Nate asked, a confused look on his face.

Nodding a bit in the affirmative, Bear replied, "This sounds like ghost mischief to me, man."

"Let's ask Kira for help, Nate," Eddie suggested automatically, "She was involved in stopping that big yo-kai related mess from two years ago, so she can help handle what's going on at your place."

"…I'm not sure if we should ask her for help," Nate remarked, "I mean, she charges those she helps with yo-kai related problems."

"As does that guy who the girls at our school constantly get to handle their yo-kai related problems for them," Eddie pointed out, "Besides, Kira's easier to find."

"Alright," Nate relented, "Let's go find Kira." Letting Eddie take the lead, Nate remarked, "I just hope that none of Kira's yo-kai friends jump out and scare us."

* * *

Over in Triangle Park, a thirteen-year-old girl was sitting on a thick branch high up in one of the trees, her back against the tree. This girl had fair skin, shoulder length somewhat wild-looking yellow-blonde hair, and blue eyes. She also wore a blue tank-top, baggy tan-colored cargo shorts, white sneakers with a red stripe, and white socks.

A Yo-kai Watch, electric-blue in color with a yellow lightning bolt pattern running along the strap, was on the girl's left wrist.

Looking up into the sky, the girl gave a bored-sounding sigh. "…Okay," the girl said aloud to herself, "Thing better start picking up around-"

"Hey Kira!" a young male voice called out, startling the thirteen-year-old and nearly making her fall out of the tree she was sitting in. Looking down, the girl saw Nate, Eddie and Bear looking up at her; it was Eddie who had called out to her. Seeing that she had some visitors, the girl hopped out of the tree, landing perfectly on her feet.

To the trio of eleven-year-old boys, the thirteen-year-old girl said in a self-amused tone, "That's my name, don't wear it out."

"Hey Kira," Nate began, "I have a problem that relates to yo-kai, and I was hoping that you'd be able to help me."

"Alright, sounds fair," Kira replied, "Just give me a moment." Turning around to face the tree she was sitting in, Kira looked up and called up to the tree, "Hey boys! Get down here! It looks like we got ourselves a job!"

Instantly, three humanoid yo-kai jumped out of the tree, landing in perfect formation. They all looked the same, too; they all had long hair that covered most of their faces, along with a ponytail on the back of their respective heads. They also all wore sleeveless kimono tops, shin covers and fingerless gloves, straw sandals, and overcoats around their waists, held up with belts. Additionally, all three yo-kai also had scarves that covered the lower halves of their faces. The ends of these scarves resembled dragon heads.

However, each yo-kai had a different color scheme. The first one had white skin, teal hair, his kimono was purple, his waistcoat shin covers and fingerless gloves were all black, his belt was white, and his dragon scarf was azure. The second one had dark gray skin, white hair, his kimono was blue, his waistcoat shin covers and fingerless gloves were dark blue, his belt was golden, and his dragon scarf was black. The third and final yo-kai had white skin, golden-blonde hair, his kimono was pale blue, his fingerless gloves and shin covers were brown, his waistcoat was light blue, his belt was white, and his dragon scarf was a pale-yellow color.

Turing to face Nate, Bear and Eddie, Kira said, "Boys, you all remember Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, right?"

"At least we got a heads up before they just appeared," Bear remarked, sighing in relief.

"Kira said that you boys need our help with something," Venoct began, "Is that true?"

"I just need to clarify a few things for myself first," Nate explained, "Yo-kai are capable of doing something called 'inspiriting', right?"

"That's correct, little dude," Kira replied with a single nod.

"And this inspiriting business can do all sorts of things, depending on what yo-kai did the inspiriting?" Nate continued.

"Wow, the kid learned this stuff faster than I did," Illuminoct remarked in a casual tone to Shadow Venoct.

"Yes, that is also true," Venoct said to Nate.

"Okay, here's my main question," Nate went on, "Is there a yo-kai whose inspiriting can make the affected person fat?"

A mildly confused look on her face, Kira replied, "Hmm…" Holding a hand to her chin, Kira continued after a few seconds, "…Not _directly_ , but I do know of at least two yo-kai who, if they're left alone long enough, their inspiriting can lead to such a result." To Nate, Kira said, "Why do you ask?"

"I think one of those two yo-kai you're suspecting has inspirited my mom," Nate explained, "Every morning for about the past two weeks or so, whenever I walked down to the first floor of my family's house, I find my mom in the kitchen eating a lot of food that she had prepared. I'm worried that if things are left alone as they are for too long, my mom will literally be too big to leave the house."

"Wait, that's why your mom has been eating a lot?" Bear said when he turned to face Nate, "I thought she was getting ready for an upcoming eating contest. From the looks of things, I would have sworn that she'd win first place."

"My friend Bear, ladies and gentlemen!" Eddie proclaimed as he gestured to Bear with both hands, making Kira and her three yo-kai friends snicker.

"So, Kira," Nate said, "Can you check and see if yo-kai really are the ones behind my mom stuffing herself silly?"

"Sure thing, little man," Kira replied in a kind yet causal tone, "Heck, I'll do this job pro bono. It's been a while since someone bothered the boys and I for help with yo-kai problems."

"Wait a minute," Shadow Venoct interjected, "Kira, if we do this job pro bono, then how can we afford to restock before heading off to the Yo-kai World, or any other location littered with other yo-kai?"

"We still have those Golden Dolls that I've been meaning to sell," Kira pointed out, "Remind me about it after we're done checking out Nate's all-you-can-eat buffet."

Hearing Kira's joke, both Bear and Illuminoct snickered uncontrollably. With an annoyed look on his face, Nate said, "This is serious, you guys."

* * *

Over at Nate's family's house, Nate opened the front door, and allowed his friends, Kira, and Kira's yo-kai friends inside. As they entered the house, they could hear the sounds of someone in the dining area eating a lot. "She's at it again," Nate muttered in a worried tone.

"Oh, come on now, Nate," Venoct remarked casually as he and his fellow yo-kai accompanied Kira into the house, "What the worse that can HOLY CRUD!"

Venoct stopped midsentence when he and everyone else saw Lily Adams, Nate's mom, siting at the table, which had a lot of food on it. Lily had indeed become rather plump and well-fed.

"I thought that human females didn't like being fat," Illuminoct remarked, sounding shocked.

"Nate's got a point about the possibility of yo-kai making his mom stuff herself silly," Kira remarked as she lifted up her left wrist so that her Yo-kai Watch was level with her eyes. Pressing a button on the watch, Kira made the lens pop up while casting a light at the dining area. Looking through the lens, Kira said, "Yup, I'm seeing three yo-kai hanging around Nate's mom. They're actively trying to hide their presence, which is probably why Nate didn't see them right away, despite the fact that he and a lot of other people in the Springdale area are yo-kai sensitive."

After Kira was done talking, her Yo-kai Watch's light had completely uncloaked the hiding yo-kai, revealing them to be Hungorges. "Hungorges," Venoct said in an annoyed tone as he glared at the three troublesome yo-kai, "They're known to make whoever they inspirit into extreme gluttons."

"Yeah, and they're one of the yo-kai I was thinking about when Nate first told us about his problem," Kira commented as she gestured for her three yo-kai friends to follow her.

"What are you guys doing?" Eddie asked, a hint of alarm and concern in his tone.

"The boys and I are going to tell the Hungorges to pack their stuff and leave," Kira explained casually.

Pounding a fist into his hand, Illuminoct added, "And my bros and I will make them leave if they don't do so willingly."

Finishing her walk over to the Hungorges, Kira said, "Oi, you three!" Hearing someone speak out in their direction, the Hungorges turned to see Kira, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct all staring them down. "I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Adams doesn't want to win a blue ribbon at the country fare," Kira said once she had the attention of the three Hungorges, "So quit inspiriting her, pack your stuff, and get the heck out of here."

"…We're going to have to go with 'no'," said the first Hungorge.

"Yeah, we're actually doing this human a favor," said the second Hungorge, "To eat is to live!"

"Boys," Kira remarked in an eerily calm tone.

"Yes, Kira?" Venoct asked.

"Do it," Kira replied as she waved a hand forward, which Venoct and his fellows took as the cue to attack the Hungorges. Nate, Bear and Eddie all watched as Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct all attacked, and sub-sequentially, curb stomped the three Hungorges. Beaten, the three Hungorges all fled, and when they did, their influence on Lily wore off.

Blinking in mild confusion a few times, Lily said, "What am I doing here?" Seeing Kira, Lily asked, "Who are you?"

"I asked her to come over to help with something, mom," Nate explained as he stepped forward, "She's a friend of mine."

"Well alright then, dear," Lily replied. Looking down at the table, Lily saw all of the food. "What's all of this doing here?" Lily asked. Looking down at herself, Lily saw how big she had gotten, and promptly let out a scream of horror.

As Lily ran up the stairs to her bedroom, Nate turned to face Kira and her yo-kai friends. "I don't suppose you know of any yo-kai that can help my mom lose weight, do you?" Nate asked.

"I know of at least one off of the top of my head, called Nekidspeed, that can at least help with getting your mom to exercise," Kira replied, "But I haven't befriended one yet."

Snapping his fingers, Nate said, "Darn it."

* * *

That evening, Kira was lying on her bed in her bedroom at her house, which was located in Uptown Springdale. Starring up at the ceiling of her bedroom, Kira let out a sigh, which got the attention of Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, who were sitting on the floor of Kira's bedroom, playing some game that involved a deck of fifty-two playing cards. It wasn't quite clear what game it was, but judging by the fact that each yo-kai had a small pile of items next to their respective persons, it was some sort of gambling-type card game. If the size of the piles were any indication of how the game was going, Illuminoct was in first place while Shadow Venoct was in last place, putting Venoct somewhere in the middle.

Having heard Kira's sigh, Venoct asked, "Are you okay, Kira?"

Sitting up on her bed, Kira turned to face her three yo-kai friends. "I was just thinking about the Phenomena that happened two years ago," Kira replied, "It happened on the night I arrived back in Japan…"

(FLASHBACK)

Two years ago, an eleven-year-old Kira was sitting on her bed in her bedroom, wearing a blue t-shirt and a pair of blue gym shorts. A few months beforehand, Kira and her parents moved to the United States, as her father got a big business opportunity. However, Kira fit in…less than ideally at her Elementary school (she got into a LOT of fights, most of which she started, but ALL of which she won). As a result, her parents decided to send her back to Japan, where she would live with her Grandma Sophia.

This arrangement actually had a number of benefits; Sophia, whose husband was recently killed in a traffic accident in Downtown Springdale, would have Kira as company. Meanwhile, Kira, once again living in her birthplace of Springdale (albeit in her Grandma Sophia's house), was back where she felt was home to her. Additionally, it was fairly easy to reconnect with all of her friends and associates at Springdale Elementary.

Granted, Kira felt somewhat annoyed that her parents considered Kira attending school back in Japan to be something akin to reform school…but who cares? Kira was back home in Springdale, Japan; it's where she was born, where she wanted to live, and heck, it's even where she wanted to die. Kira didn't even consider the possibility that her…lack of fitting in back in the states…would lead to her getting sent back to Springdale. But when she got off of the plane at the Springdale airport, where she was greeted by Grandma Sophia, Kira inwardly wished that she had…not fit in back in the states…sooner.

So here Kira was; sitting on a bed in a bedroom at her Grandma Sophia's house in Springdale. Dinner was close to ready, so the eleven-year-old girl figured that she should put on something more proper to wear than just an ensemble that resembled most school gym uniforms. As she hopped off of her bed, Kira heard a large booming sound coming from outside; although it sounded loud, it also sounded like it came from somewhere to roughly the north of where Kira and her Grandma Sophia lived. Immediately after the loud booming sound, Kira felt some sort of wave wash over her; the eleven-year-old girl felt as if the wave was covering all of Springdale as a whole.

Alarmed, Kira immediately got dressed; she tied some her hair back into a single ponytail that hung down off of the back of her head before putting on a red baseball cap backwards, then she threw on a pair of cargo shorts before putting on her socks and shoes. As she finished getting herself dressed, Kira heard a lot of panicked screaming coming from outside. Running over to her bedroom window, Kira looked out and saw people running around.

She also saw, to her bafflement, a number of small, weird-looking beings running about as well; some looked like humanoid cicadas armed with little ninja swords, some were brownish sea urchins with eyes in their mouths, some were tiny little shadowy-looking ninjas, some resembled darumas, some resembled giant sections of wall that had arms and legs, some resembled little blue guys with one really big hand, some resembled ducks with really big trails of snot coming from the nostrils of their beaks, and some resembled big mosquitos with arms; those mosquito-looking critters also wore long-sleeved hooded cloaks for some reason.

"…If this were any country other than Japan, I would have to question what's happening right now," Kira said before turning around to run out of her bedroom, run down the stairs of her and her Grandma Sophia's house, and out the door. Seeing one of the duck-looking critters, Kira shouted, "Hey short stuff, think fast!" as she swung her foot at it, sending it flying with a kick.

Two young adults, both women, saw what Kira had done as they ran by. "See?! I told you!" one of the young women said to the other, "There ARE weird little monsters running about! Did you not see the girl send one flying with a kick?!"

"I still can't see these critters that you and everyone else can see!" the other young woman replied in a panicked tone, "I can very much tell that you're not lying about there being a bunch of weird little monsters running around, but I still can't see any of them! What the heck is going on here?!"

"Maybe the girl has some idea," the first young woman suggested as she pointed to the eleven-year-old Kira, "After all, she did just defeat one of them."

"What is she even doing outside when a bunch of weird little monsters that are invisible most everyone is attacking?!" the second young woman said as she was still in panic mode.

"Hey, it's up to me to protect my grandma," Kira remarked as she tapped the toe end of her foot that she used to kick the weird little critter that she sent flying with a kick on the ground, "So when I see a bunch of weird little monsters causing a ruckus outside, I go into action!"

"That's really sweet of you to want to protect your grandma, young lady," the first young woman said, "But you really should get back inside."

"Not when there's monster butt for me to kick!" Kira declared as she turned to face her right before running off, leaving the two young women to continue running for cover.

Around the area of Banter Bakery, Kira ran into one of the brown sea urchin monsters. Gearing up to kick the little sea urchin monster, Kira let out a battle cry as she charged at the brown sea urchin monster. This got the brown sea urchin's attention, as it turned to face Kira and charged at her itself.

However, as Kira and the brown sea urchin monster were about five feet from each other, a figure landed between them, cutting them off from facing each other; the shock of being cut off made Kira fall onto her butt. Turing to face the brown sea urchin monster, the figure said, "The humans are just as panicked as us yo-kai about what's going on. There's no need for both groups to run about like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off."

"Who are you to say what I can and can't do?" the brown sea urchin monster demanded of the mysterious figure. It was after the brown sea urchin monster talked that Kira looked up and saw who had cut in on her fight.

"I am Venoct," the mysterious figure said to the brown sea urchin monster, "And I will not stand for all of this unnecessary insanity."

"Go suck a cough drop!" the brown sea urchin monster exclaimed as he charged at Venoct. However, the dragon heads of Venoct's scarf flew forward, punching at the brown sea urchin monster countless times.

Falling over onto the ground, the brown sea urchin monster passed out from the pummeling he received from the S-rank yo-kai. Turning around to face Kira, Venoct said, "Since I saw you charge at that Coughkoff, I assume that means you are one of the humans that, due to the event that had just happened, are yo-kai sensitive."

"What are you talking about?" Kira asked, a confused look on her face as she got up to her feet.

"Do you recall hearing an explosion a short while ago?" Venoct asked.

"Yeah," Kira replied, "I also felt some sort of weird wave-thingy wash over me a few seconds after I heard the explosion." Pointing at Venoct, Kira half-asked half-demanded, "What do you know about what the heck's going on?"

"…A few days ago," Venoct began, "My brothers and I came to the human world to investigate rumors of a gang of malicious yo-kai trying to set off a device that would render the humans of this area vulnerable enough to allow them to take over. On our way, my brothers and I were separated from each other. I wound up here, which turned out to be the epicenter of the yo-kai gang's plan having unfortunately gone off. Albeit not with success."

"Yo-kai?" Kira repeated in a confused tone, "What the heck are yo-kai?"

"The weird monsters that you've seen running around here after the explosion and sub-sequent 'wave' sensation," Venoct explained, "That Coughkoff you tried to attack is a yo-kai. I myself, as well as my brothers, are also yo-kai."

"…This is a lot to take in," Kira remarked as she held her left hand to her head.

After giving Kira a few seconds of consideration, Venoct said, "You seem to be the kind of person who fights for what is right. Tell me, would you be willing to help me fight the malicious yo-kai?"

"Just tell me where they are at and I'll give them a good kicking," Kira replied confidently.

"We'll have to gather a support base first," Venoct replied, "As well as get you the proper gear any human needs if they are to work extensively with yo-kai. As funny as it would be to see the malicious yo-kai getting sent flying by a human girl because she kicked them, it's admittedly not the best idea in the world."

"So, what do we do?" Kira asked.

"First, we need to get back to wherever you live," Venoct replied, "We're going to need a base of operations for our efforts against the malicious yo-kai."

"I live with my Grandma Sophia here in Uptown Springdale," Kira replied. Turning around, Kira gestured for Venoct to follow her. "Come on, I'll bring you over," Kira continued as she walked off, with Venoct following her.

…

Back in Kira's bedroom, Kira and Venoct were talking about what they had to do. "First off, we'll need to grab you a Yo-kai Watch, a Yo-kai Medallium, and probably a Yo-kai Pad as well," Venoct said.

"What is all of that?" Kira asked.

"A Yo-kai Watch allows you to scan for hidden yo-kai, as well as call up yo-kai you are friends with by inserting yo-kai medals you received from them," Venoct explained, "A Yo-kai Medallium is used to store the medals you received from the Yo-kai you befriended, and a Yo-kai Pad is basically just an electronic encyclopedia, or something to that effect."

"What are Yo-kai medals?" Kira asked.

"They are, like I said, medals that you receive from yo-kai that you have befriended," Venoct said, "If you wish to call upon a particular yo-kai that you befriended, you stick the medal you got form them into your Yo-kai Watch to summon them."

"…I'm going to have to get this stuff that you're talking about so I can check it out," Kira said, "I'm having some trouble picturing all of this in my head without something to base all of it off of."

Nodding once in understanding, Venoct got up as he said, "I'll have to go collect what you need, then. Before I go, do you have a preference for what kind of watch you get?"

"There are different kinds?" Kira replied, looking mildly confused yet overall curious.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Venoct explained, "There are two standard models. One worn on the wrist, and one that's a pocket watch which is worn on a lanyard around your neck."

"I'll prefer the first kind, as the second one sounds kind of girly," Kira replied.

"Umm…" Venoct said, "…I don't mean to be rude here, but aren't _you_ a girl? Or is my knowledge of the human world more lacking that I thought?"

"You know what I mean," Kira replied.

"The only way the pocket watch model would be quote unquote 'girly' was if it was pink and covered in heart patterns," Venoct remarked, "Do you at least have any preferences for color?"

"Blue and yellow," Kira remarked, "With lightning patterns, if possible."

"…Do you want the blue to be the primary color, or the yellow?" Venoct asked.

"Blue," Kira said.

"And you want the watch that's worn on the wrist, right?" Venoct asked. In response, Kira nodded a few times in the affirmative. "Alright," Venoct replied before he took off, "I'll see what I can manage."

Venoct came back sometime the following morning; surprisingly, the specific kind of Yo-kai Watch that Kira thought of was actually available. Additionally, Venoct also got ahold of a Yo-kai Medallium and a Yo-kai Pad. Looking at her new Yo-kai Watch, which was on her left wrist, Kira said, "So now the two of us are ready to kick some yo-kai butt?"

"Not quite," Venoct said, "Like I said, we're going to need a support base. And by support base, I mean we're going to have to get out there and befriend some yo-kai to help us."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Kira asked, "I don't even have one yo-kai friend yet."

"Oh, that reminds me," Venoct said as he held his hand out, "This is for you." Looking in Venoct's hand, Kira saw a yo-kai medal that had an image of Venoct on it.

Taking the medal from Venoct, Kira said, "Thanks."

"As a side-quest to gathering as many yo-kai friends as possible," Venoct continued, "We should look for my brothers, who I got separated from. I am certain that they will be willing to join you once they learn that I joined you."

"What do these brothers of yours look like?" Kira asked.

"They look exactly like me, except they both have different color schemes," Venoct replied, "You'll know them when you see them."

Looking back down to the medal she held, Kira said, "Alright, Venoct." Gripping her hand closed, Kira said, "Let's get out there and make some friends!"

(FLASHBACK OVER)

"Hoo boy, that stuff from two years ago sure was a hoot and a holler, wasn't it?" Illuminoct said to his brothers, "Can you believe that one boss yo-kai had me trapped in that crate in that construction sight, and you guys plus Kira rescued me?"

"I'm just glad that the malicious yo-kai's plans were ultimately foiled," Venoct remarked, "Things would NOT have been pleasant if they had ultimately succeeded."

"But even so," Shadow Venoct remarked, "Because of those malicious yo-kai, existence of our world is well-known. Also, at least ten percent of the entire population of the Springdale area can see yo-kai as easily as they can see humans."

"And all of that went down two years ago," Kira remarked. Getting up off of her bed, Kira remarked, "Still, because of all of that, I got to meet the three of you. That has got to be worth something, right?" Venoct and his brothers all nodded. "Besides which," Kira added with a self-amused grin, "The last two years have been the most exciting two years of my life."

"Who knows what awaits us in the future?" Venoct replied in an agreeing tone.

"Well whatever comes our way," Kira said, "The four of us will face it head-on, and kick it in the butt."

"Heck yeah!" Illuminoct exclaimed, pumping his right fist into the air as he, his brother and Kira all shared a laugh.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER ONE

Author's notes:

You know, the anime has a lot of slice of life-type content. And that actually appeals to me. Not only that, but I also enjoy the games as well. That's why I'm intending to try my hand at writing a Yo-kai Watch story. Who knows? Maybe this will go somewhere.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter two: Enter! Atticus the Fox!

It was nighttime in Springdale; close to the middle of the night, actually. Despite the late hour, a number of girls in the uptown Springdale were not only wide awake, but were standing outside of their school, Springdale Elementary. All of the girls had worried looks on their faces. "Hey girls," Shelly said in a nervous tone, "Do…do you think that Lulu is going to be okay?"

"She's going to be rescued no problem, Shelly," Alex said with a dismissive wave of her hand; Alex was practically the only girl who did not appear to be worried or nervous.

"B-but she wandered into the s-school at night," Shelly stammered, "And she clearly looked like she was possessed by a yo-kai."

"Why else do you think we asked Atticus to go into the school to find and rescue Lulu?" Chelsea replied; although she was confident that the person they sent in would be able to get the job done, Chelsea still seemed nervous.

"Chelsea, girl, you gotta relax," Alex remarked casually. Turning her head so that she faced Springdale Elementary, Alex continued, "If there's someone who has the most know-how about yo-kai, it's Atticus."

* * *

The Tarantutor, a boss yo-kai of some notoriety, was in a boy's restroom on the ground floor; a child who had fallen under the sway of Tarantutor's influence had, as if in a trance, wandered into the school. With this child, Tarantutor would finally have his due. …Or rather, he _would have_ had his due if it weren't for the fact that before he could even get to doing with the child as he saw fit, Tarantutor was confronted by a slightly older human child who had befriended some rather powerful yo-kai.

All three of the human's yo-kai friends were tall foxes that stood on their hind feet. The first fox yo-kai, which had golden fur with purple highlights, was throwing fire at Tarantutor. The second fox yo-kai, with grayish-silver fur with indigo highlights, was throwing ice at Tarantutor. The third and final fox yo-kai, which was mostly dark gray in color, was actually draining Tarantutor's health. The three fox yo-kai also had nine tails each, which Tarantutor thought was kind of odd.

The three fox yo-kai were relentlessly attacking Tarantutor, who was sticking to the ceiling of the boy's restroom, eventually causing enough damage to knock the boss yo-kai off of the ceiling and onto the floor, where his sensitive belly was exposed. While Tarantutor remained lying prone like that, the ice fox and the draining fox continued to attack while the fire fox stopped to charge up a particularly powerful attack.

"I'm ready, boys!" the fire fox called out, causing the other two foxes to leap to the sides, allowing the fire fox to throw a great blazing inferno at the Tarantutor's sensitive underbelly. The flame struck true, and Tarantutor, beating into submission, poofed away in a cloud of swirling smoke.

"Alright, guys," said the human boy who was friends with the three fox yo-kai as he stepped forward; he had fair skin, black hair that almost reached the tips of his shoulder blades, and wore a light gray long-sleeved shirt (the wrists were loose-hanging, not clinging to the boy's wrists) under a red men's tank top, light gray baggy cargo shorts held up with a belt, white socks and white sneakers. The boy also wore red stud earrings, one in each ear lobe.

"The boss yo-kai has fled after it had been defeated, so the girl who fell under its influence should be snapping back to normal by now," said the draining fox yo-kai, "We should look for the girl and get her-"

"Umm, hello? I hear voices out there," a young female voice said timidly as one of the stalls in the restroom opened; Lulu walked out of that stall.

Turning to face Lulu, the boy said, "You wandered into the school due to the influence of a particularly nasty yo-kai. Your friends were worried, so they asked me, Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi to head into the school to bring you back out."

"Oh! You're Atticus, aren't you?" Lulu said suddenly as she pointed at the boy and his three yo-kai friends. After a second, Lulu's face had a look of confusion. "Wait a minute, what are you doing in the girl's restroom?" Lulu asked, "Boys aren't allowed in the girls' restrooms, you know."

"One, my friends and I just defeated the yo-kai who made you wander into the school at night and sent him packing," Atticus explained, "Two, your friends asked me to get you out of here as I had previously stated, and three, this is a boy's restroom."

"Boy's restroom?" Lulu repeated in a confused tone. Looking around, Lulu eventually spotted a few urinals along the walls of the restroom. "KYAAAAAA!" Lulu cried out in an embarrassed panic, "I'm in a boy's restroom!"

To Atticus, the fire fox yo-kai said, "Let's…let's just get the girl out of here, Atticus."

"I couldn't agree more, Kyubi," Atticus replied.

…

Outside of the school, Atticus, Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi watched as Lulu was group-hugged by all of her worried friends. Katie, Sarah, Meg, Zoey, Chelsea, Lina and Shelly all swarmed their friend who was spirited away; some of the girls were even crying tears of relief now that their friend had been rescued.

"Human females tend to be very close to each other, do they not?" the ice fox yo-kai remarked in a casual yet mildly curious tone.

"Of course, Frostail," Atticus said, "Although even I tend to be surprised by how friendship between two or more girls tends to work from time to time."

"Thanks again for rescuing Lulu," one of the girls called out, getting the attention of Atticus and his three yo-kai friends. Turning to face the direction the voice came from, Atticus and the fox yo-kai saw that Katie Forester was talking to them.

"Before I forget," Katie said as she walked up to Atticus, "I found this weird little charm thingy, and I was figuring that I'd give it to you as thanks for getting Lulu out of the school." Katie held her hand out, showing an accessory lying in her palm. Seeing what the accessory was, Atticus's eyes widened somewhat in surprise.

" _That_ ' _s a Fiend Badge_ ," Atticus thought as he accepted the payment from Katie, " _I_ ' _ve been meaning to get another one of these since Kyubi's currently wearing the only one I have so far_. _But do I give it to Frostail or Darkyubi_?" After pocketing the Fiend Badge, Atticus said, "Thank you, Katie."

"Umm, if it's not too much trouble," Katie replied, "Alex, Shelly and I need your help with something else. Not tonight, though. It's getting too late."

"When and where would be good for you and your friends, young lady?" Frostail asked, getting Katie's attention.

"Tomorrow at Triangle Park," Alex remarked as she and Shelly stepped forward to join Katie, "Can you guys be there by eight in the morning?"

"I don't see why not," Atticus replied. Turning to face his yo-kai friends, Atticus said, "Well what do you guys think?"

"I have no objections," Darkyubi remarked casually.

Turing back to face the girls, Atticus said, "Kyubi, Frostail, Darkyubi and I will be there."

"Great!" Katie replied, "Well anyway, my friends and I all have to get home now. It is late, after all."

"Don't stay out too long," Atticus said as he waved good-bye. Turning to face his yo-kai friends, Atticus said after the girls were all gone, "We should follow their example ourselves."

"Yes," Kyubi agreed with a nod, "The last thing I want right now is to run into an oni." Atticus, with his three yo-kai friends following him, made his way home.

* * *

At his grandaunt Omiyo's house where he lived, Atticus was in his bedroom, sitting at his desk. On the desk laid three yo-kai medals; one for Kyubi, one for Frostail and one for Darkyubi. The Fiend Badge that Atticus got from Katie laid off to the side, around the upper right corner. " _It_ ' _s been about two years now_ ," Atticus thought as he continued to ponder who to give the new Fiend Badge to, " _Two years since the Phenomena occurred_ , _and yo_ - _kai became a part of everyday life in the Springdale_ , _Harrisville and San Fantastico areas_ …"

…

Atticus thought back to when he was eleven-years-old; his family had moved to the United States because his father got in on some big business opportunity. At one point during Atticus's time in an American elementary school, he was called to the principal's office; it was there that Atticus was informed that his granduncle was killed in an accident that happened back in Atticus's birthplace of Springdale, back in Japan.

The death of Atticus's granduncle not only left Atticus's grandaunt devastated, but it also left her alone. Caring immensely for her aunt, Atticus's mother talked it over with Atticus's father, and the two of them decided that they would send Atticus back to Japan, to live in Springdale with his grandaunt. This meant that Atticus would, once again, be attending classes over at Springdale Elementary.

Atticus was actually looking forward to the move back to his birthplace; the classes here in the states were boring, as they provided no challenge to someone of Atticus's academic level. Not only that, but the only other Japanese student at Atticus's school in the states was that girl who was a clear-cut Yankee (eleven-years-old and that girl was already acting like a delinquent?), always getting into fights and otherwise being trouble.

During Atticus's first day back in Springdale, his grandaunt doted on him, clearly happy to have company once again. Atticus, for his part, acted as he should; kind, obedient and respectful. However, it was that _night_ where things got…interesting for the eleven-year-old boy.

Atticus had just reached his room after having dinner with his Grandaunt Omiyo. Atticus looked somewhat different back when he was eleven. Although Atticus's black hair was roughly as long as it would be when he reaches thirteen and he still sported a long-sleeved light gray shirt with the loose-hanging wrists, the men's tank-top that Atticus wore was actually green, as was the baggy pair of cargo shorts he wore. He also wore a pair of men's sandals. Atticus wore the red stud earrings back when he was eleven as well.

Atticus was sitting at his desk in his room, writing in his personal journal about the day's events. As he reached the part where he was writing about the dinner he had with his grandaunt, Atticus stopped short when he heard a loud explosion from outside, followed by feeling an odd wave sensation washing over him. A few seconds later, Atticus heard panicked screaming coming from outside. Looking out his window, Atticus saw a number of people and a number of odd-looking creatures running around.

Acting under the assumption that the odd creatures he was seeing were behind the explosion, Atticus ran downstairs and out the front door. Eventually, Atticus made his way to the parking lot of the community center, where he was confronted by one of the little men wearing only a pan on his head and a loincloth. The little man charged at Atticus, aiming a toothpick at him as if it were a spear.

Atticus merely side-stepped to avoid the simple attack while dealing a kick, sending the little man flying and making him land on top of a bush. As he continued onward, Atticus was confronted by another one of the odd creatures, a giant section of wall that had a face on it; arms and legs were sticking out of this section of wall. Atticus was prepared to charge at this creature as well, but the eleven-year-old boy was stopped when a mysterious nine-tailed figure covered in golden fur landed between Atticus and the wall section with a face.

Throwing a great amount of fire at the wall section with a face and defeating it, the nine-tailed fox turned to face Atticus. Introducing himself as Kyubi, the nine-tailed fox proceeded to explain a number of things to Atticus. He told the boy about the world of yo-kai, about how the existence of yo-kai was now common knowledge because of the phenomena that occurred, about the malicious yo-kai who are behind what's going on, and about how Kyubi was separated from his two brothers, who came with Kyubi to the human world to investigate things.

Kyubi also roped Atticus into helping out against the plans of the malicious yo-kai, getting for Atticus a yo-kai Medallium, a Yo-kai Pad, and most importantly, a Yo-kai Watch; Atticus's watch was a pocket watch model that was worn on a lanyard around his neck. The watch and lanyard were both red with black flame patterns, a design that many boys would have no trouble with. After being properly equipped to handle the upcoming business with the yo-kai, Atticus also received his first yo-kai medal, that being the one from Kyubi.

The first thing he ever got from his first actual friend.

…

Snapping back to the present, Atticus looked down at his desk, where the medals from the fox yo-kai and the Fiend Badge laid. Sighing, Atticus collected the items and put them away so he could pull his journal out from where he had it on his bookshelf, lay it on his desk, open it, and write in it about the events of the day.

* * *

The following morning, Atticus, along with Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi, all met up with Katie, Alex and Shelly at Triangle Park. Atticus and his yo-kai friends actually arrived two minutes prior to the agreed upon time; Katie and her friends, however, were ten minutes late. "Hey Atticus!" Katie greeted when she and her friends arrived, "We didn't keep you and your yo-kai friends waiting too long, did we?"

"You're lucky my brothers and I have more patience than that idiot Illuminoct," Darkyubi remarked to the human girls.

"At least he remembered not to include the other two as idiots along with their blonde brother," Frostail whispered to Kyubi, drawing a nod of agreement from the fire-wielding fox yo-kai.

"So, Katie," Atticus began as he took a step forward, "You and your friends said that you have another request for my friends and I. What is it?"

"You know about the Springdale Business Tower in Downtown Springdale, right?" Katie explained.

"The Springdale Business Tower, eh?" Atticus replied, "That's the place that's been in charge of all of the yo-kai themed merchandise that's been selling like hot cakes ever since the phenomena roughly two years ago, right?"

Nodding once in the affirmative, Katie continued, "Yeah, and as a matter of fact, my dad is one of the leading members of the team that's in charge of managing all of that business."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Atticus said, "I'm assuming that you want Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi to give your dad's team their permission to use their likenesses in a new wave of merchandise?"

Shaking her head softly a bit, Katie replied, "No, that's not it." Sighing, Katie said, "According to one of the men working under my dad and his co-workers, there's some manner of strange happenings occurring on the thirteenth floor, which is for the most part abandoned. A secretary who was sent to the thirteenth floor to look for an extra chair for a meeting recalled seeing a very large and bizarre-looking yo-kai in the large room far to the west."

"A yo-kai sensitive person works at the Springdale Business Tower?" Atticus asked, his interest mildly piqued.

"At least seven or so, but they're all women working as secretaries," Alex confirmed.

"Katie, was it?" Frostail began as he pointed at Katie. After Katie nodded to confirm that the ice fox yo-kai got her name right, Frostail continued, "Good. Anywho Katie, from what you've told Atticus, my brothers and I, this 'large and bizarre-looking yo-kai' is the cause of what's going on over at where your father and his fellows work at. Is my summation accurate?"

"It's exactly what I thought of when I put the pieces together myself," Katie replied. To Atticus, Katie asked, "So, do you think you can do it?"

"I'll have to talk it over with Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi, but I personally have no problem with investigating what's going on over at the Business Tower," replied the thirteen-year-old boy. Turning to face his yo-kai friends, Atticus said, "Are you guys up for it?"

"A large and bizarre-looking yo-kai haunting the abandoned thirteenth floor of some company building?" Kyubi replied with an amused smirk. Holding up his right hand, Kyubi said as a flame poofed into existence in the middle of his right hand's palm, "Sound like my brothers and I will have some fun."

"I just hope this doofus is more of a challenge than the Tarantutor from last night," Darkyubi remarked as he pounded a fist into his hand. With a mildly annoyed-sounding huff, the draining fox yo-kai added, "I don't think any of us left that fight with a scratch."

"Well I for one wouldn't mind it too much if things didn't come to blows," Frostail said, "A true fighter always welcomes an avoided battle." To Atticus, Frostail added, "Regardless, my wanderlust is itching, so I wouldn't mind you taking up the girl's request. Exploring around an abandoned floor in a company building sounds appealing to me."

Giving his yo-kai friend a nod, Atticus said, "Got it." Turning to face Katie and her friends, Atticus said, "We'll take up the job."

* * *

Later, over at the Springdale Business Tower in downtown Springdale, Katie and her friends were leading Atticus and his fox yo-kai friends over to the elevators on the ground floor. As the group got close to the elevators, they were stopped by two secretaries.

"Excuse me," the first secretary said as she gestured to Atticus and the three fox yo-kai, "But are you here to investigate the strange goings-on up on the thirteenth floor?"

"We are, yes," Atticus replied, "I'm assuming that you're one of the yo-kai sensitive people working here?"

"Yes, Michelle and I both," the second secretary replied with a nod, "Will…umm…will your entire party fit in the elevator?"

"If not, then my brothers and I can simply wait down here until Atticus and the girls reach the thirteenth floor," Frostail remarked kindly, "Atticus will be able to summon us there. I hope the presence of my brothers and I will not prove to be a distraction to you and the other humans down here."

"Carly and I are the only ones stationed to work on this floor that can see yo-kai," Michelle the secretary explained, "No one else will be able to see you."

"You make a good point," Kyubi replied, pointing to Michelle in a commending manner.

"Well everyone, let's see if the elevator has enough room for all of us," Katie said as she led the rest of the way over to the elevators.

"Wait a minute," Atticus interrupted, "You and the other two girls are coming along?"

"We wanna see you and your team in action," Alex explained. Holding up a video camera that she brought with her, Alex continued, "We also want to record any awesome stuff that you guys do."

"That won't be able to record Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi properly," Atticus pointed out, "Regular cameras can't record visual or audio for yo-kai."

"This is a special video camera made with parts that allow for recording video clips of yo-kai," Alex explained as she patted her video camera on the side gently.

"Why do you want to record a video of what my friends and I are going to do?" Atticus asked, a mildly confused look on his face.

"The boys say that they have a video recording of Kira and her yo-kai friends in action," Katie explained, "They say that their video can beat out whatever video the girls and I can come up with. So, in addition to asking you to check to see if there is a yo-kai problem on the thirteenth floor, we want to record a video of you taking care of the problem if there is one. Then we'll show it to the boys when they present their video to us."

Scoffing in an annoyed tone, Darkyubi remarked, "You know, I bet that if he knew he'd be in the movie, that idiot Illuminoct would demand a series of action figures based off of his likeness that would be sold to the public masses, and that all of the action figures would come with Kung-Fu grip." To the girls, Darkyubi said, "I personally have no issue with you girls recording a video of me in action."

"Never let it be said that I was never one to shy away from the spotlight completely," Kyubi said with a sly look on his face.

"I wish you girls had brought this up beforehand," Frostail remarked as he rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner, "I'll willingly admit that I'm not as…outgoing…as either of my two brothers here. I don't really feel comfortable being on stage too much."

"Relax, Frostail," Atticus remarked, "Chances are that there won't even be much of a show at all, so there's no need to panic."

"Well geez, don't get our hopes down," Alex said sarcastically to Atticus.

* * *

Up on the thirteenth floor of the Springdale Business Tower, Atticus and the rest of the group got off of the elevator; as it turned out, everyone was able to fit, provided that Kyubi and his brothers all held their arms behind their backs while hugging/holding their tails as closely to their bodies as possible. When the group got off of the elevator, Atticus saw a moderately weak yo-kai scamper off out of the corner of his vision. "I doubt that was the yo-kai problem we're supposed to be looking for," Atticus remarked.

"Well why not try going after it anyway?" Alex said as she held her video camera up, "Better something than nothing if the girls and I are to-"

Alex was cut off when the sound of a large wooden bucket of water spilling over sounded off from the large room on the far west of the floor, followed by a random yo-kai screaming, "YEOUCH! THAT BURNS!"

"That must have been the yo-kai causing trouble here!" Shelly declared as she pointed in the direction the shout came from, "We ought to hurry!"

"…Was that the sound of water being spilled that I just heard?" Darkyubi asked rhetorically, putting is hands on his hips.

"We'll deal with that bridge when we get to it," Atticus remarked, "For now, let's just go check it out." The group made their way in the direction they heard the splashing water come from. When they reached the destination, what they saw shocked them. There was indeed a large yo-kai on the thirteenth floor of the Springdale Business center. And it did indeed look bizarre; it looked like a giant humanoid pig wearing goggles, a loincloth, and, tied around its neck as a cape, a towel. It also held a wooden tub in each of its hands.

"…What is that?" Atticus asked as he pointed at the large pig yo-kai.

"Huh?" the large pig yo-kai said upon spotting Atticus, "Who are you? What are you doing here in my personal bath house?"

"Bath house?" Kyubi repeated, his tone carrying a hint of mild confusion, "What are you talking about? This is a floor of a business tower."

"Well, it's going to be a bath house," the large pig yo-kai replied, "So stuff it."

"Who are you?" Shelly asked as she pointed at the pig yo-kai.

"The name's Sproink, little lady," the pig yo-kai replied in a mildly irritated tone, "What's it to you?"

"A lot of humans work on the various floors of this business center," Alex began to explain, "You setting up your bath house here is causing trouble for them. Would you mind it too terribly if you packed your stuff and leave?"

"Oh ha, like little humans like you four can get a yo-kai such as myself to leave," Sproink laughed, pointing at Atticus, Katie, Shelly and Alex.

"Yeah, that's why my brothers and I are here," Kyubi said as he pointed at Sproink, "We're the bouncers, so to speak." With Frostail on his left and Darkyubi on his right, Kyubi stepped forward as he said, "Are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

"If I were you, I'd pick the easy way," Frostail advised in a warning tone; although not as eager to fight as Kyubi or Darkyubi, Frostail was still just as fast and strong of a yo-kai as his brothers, and would not hesitate to fight if it came down to it. A flaring energy sparking to life in his right hand's palm; although it was a flame, it was not a flame of fire, but a flame of elemental ice energy. Holding the ice-flame in front of Sproink's face, Frostail continued, "The easy way does not include _frozen ham_."

"You think you can take me on?" Sproink laughed boastfully, "Oh, that is rich! Come on, I'll show you what happens when I go hog wild!"

Right as Sproink finished talking, Kyubi threw a powerful flame at Sproink's face, startling the yo-kai and damaging him at the same time. This was immediately followed by Frostail throwing icy energy at Sproink's face, and then Darkyubi sapped Sproink's energy from his face. Sproink leapt up and landed with a hard thud on his read end, creating a minor shock wave along the ground that mildly damaged Kyubi and his fellows, but not to any alarming degree.

After Kyubi and Frostail threw more fire and ice at Sproink, the pig yo-kai covered his face with the two small wooden tubs he was holding. Seeing how the previously unprotected face was now being covered, the fox yo-kai all decided to shift gears and go after attacking Sproink's exposed ample belly. After repeatedly being attacked in his stomach, Sproink fell over prone.

"Alright," Darkyubi said as he charged up to attack Sproink's still-exposed belly, "Time to-"

"Guys, keep attacking his face," Atticus said, cutting off his darker fox yo-kai friend in the process.

"But his weak spot is perfectly exposed," Darkyubi objected, "Surely it'd be a good idea to keep attacking his-"

"I got a bad feeling that something will happen if we keep pushing things that way," Atticus replied. The dark fox yo-kai decided to drop his argument then and there; whenever his human friend has a gut feeling like this, it's usually a good idea to go along with it. Every time Darkyubi and his brothers have done so, not only did things work out fine, but Darkyubi often saw what would have happened if he had ignored Atticus's gut feeling.

So, the three fox yo-kai decided to keep going after Sproink's face. Eventually, after his face took enough hits, Sproink flailed over in defeat. After the pig yo-kai poofed away in a swirling cloud of purple smoke, Atticus turned to face Katie, Shelly and Alex. "Well that takes care of the yo-kai problem," Atticus remarked, "Given the beating he took, I'm doubting he'll try to start up his own bath house ever again. At least here."

"Did you girls get plenty of good shots of my brothers and I in action?" Kyubi asked, a slight hint of smug self-amusement in his tone.

"Oh yeah," Alex replied, "The little film we just recorded is totally going to blow whatever the boys have out of the water!"

"Speaking of water," Frostail began to remark as he looked around the room everyone was in, "I think that all of this spilled water should be taken care of. I doubt that the humans working here would appreciate their work place suffering from water damage."

"Good point," Katie said as she pointed to the ice fox yo-kai in a commending manner, "I'll look into informing my dad as soon as we get out of here."

* * *

Later that evening in Uptown Springdale, Katie, Shelly, Alex and all of the girls they hang out with met up with the boys in their age group over at the community center.

"I hope you boys are ready to eat your words," Alex said as she held up her special video camera, "Because the girls and I have one hell of a video of Atticus and his yo-kai pals kicking the butt of some big pig yo-kai dude that was causing all sorts of trouble over where Katie's dad works!"

"It is you girls who shall be eating words!" Bear declared as he pointed at Alex; standing behind Bear were Nate, Eddie and the other boys in their age group.

"Yeah," Eddie said, "Bear said that he recorded a video of Kira's yo-kai pals beating up some other yo-kai that were causing trouble for Nate's mom over at their place!"

"Wait a minute," Nate said with a mildly confused look on his face. Turning to face Bear, Nate continued, "Bear, you recorded a video of that?"

"Oh, heck yeah," Bear replied as he held up the exact same model of video camera that Alex owns, "You and Eddie were too busy watching Kira's yo-kai pals in action, so you didn't see me whip out my special video camera."

"Then we'll have a contest," Shelly said, "Our video versus yours. Everyone here will watch both videos, and at the end we'll vote on which one we like more. The video with the most votes wins."

"You're not only on, but you're going down!" Bear declared as he pointed dramatically at Shelly.

…

Inside the community center, the kids had all just gotten done watching the video that Katie, Alex and Shelly recorded of Atticus's yo-kai friends fighting Sproink. "Not bad, not bad," Bear remarked. As he set up to show his video to everyone, Bear continued, "But wait until you see this beauty!"

When he was done, Bear got the video he recorded to play on the screen that had been set up. It started playing a scene of Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct stomping on three Hungorges repeatedly. After a few seconds, Bear started talking about what was going on as he was filming the scene.

"Boy, Kira's yo-kai pals are sure kicking some major butt here," Bear's voice said from the video in an impressed tone, "I'd certainly hate to get on their bad side! I don't think I can take that much of a thrashing, let me tell you!"

As this video was playing, the reactions of the kids were varied. While the boys all cheered, the girls gave Bear's film a less outstanding round of applause. After Bear collected his things, Alex walked up in front of where everyone was sitting and stood in the center of Alex attention. "Alright, everyone!" Alex announced, "It's time to call it to a vote! If you think the video with Atticus and his crew was better, raise your hand!"

After counting all of the hands that went up, Alex said, "Okay. Now those in favor of the video of Kira and her crew in action." Alex counted all of the raised hands for Kira's video, then Alex said, "Well alright! Counting my vote, we got eight in favor of Atticus's video and eight in favor of Kira's video, meaning that the winner is Wait a minute, the videos tied!"

"My video didn't lose!" Bear cheered as he pumped both fists into the air, "I win!"

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER TWO

Author's notes:

Well, there's chapter two for you. I have a few more plots in mind for chapters, such as the one for the next chapter, where Kira has to track down a dragon yo-kai to help deal with a vampire yo-kai. If you can guess who the vampire yo-kai is, congratulations; you get a cookie. You get two if you can also guess the dragon yo-kai.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter three: Monster melee- Vampire versus Dragon

It was nighttime in Uptown Springdale. Aside from a few people who stayed up to catch late-night programming on TV, everyone was asleep. Even the various yo-kai who resided in and around Uptown Springdale thought that it would be best to turn in for the night. Yes, everyone on the area had pretty much settled down for the night.

…Well, not _everyone_.

Lina, a girl who allows her bangs to hang over her eyes a bit, could be seen wandering about the upper floor of Springdale Elementary at around this time. As if under a trance, Lina wandered into the music room, were music was coming from, even though Lina herself was the only one in the school at the time. Or so anyone would believe at first.

A short figure, cloaked by the dark shadows of the music classroom, could be seen greeting the practically hypnotized Lina as she walked into the room. Only the figure's silhouette could be seen, as the figure was trying to keep itself from being too much out in the open. With a sudden flourish, the figure threw its right arm out to the side, allowing the cape it wore to flap as if it were being blown by the wind.

"I'm so glad that you were able to join me here," the figure said to the hypnotized Lina. Striding forward, the figure then said, "Nyaow…let me suck your blood!" The figure then flew towards the helpless Lina in a blur.

From outside of the school, you could hear a young girl scream.

* * *

The following morning, friends Nate, Bear and Eddie were hanging out outside of the Everymart in Uptown Springdale. Although it would normally only be Nate, Bear and Eddie, the three boys were, on this occasion, accompanied by Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl who, thanks to having a Yo-kai Watch and a few yo-kai friends, is able to handle yo-kai related problems for people. In fact, in addition to Kira, three of her yo-kai friends, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, were also hanging out with the kids.

"I'm telling you," Illuminoct said to the human boys, "Out of all of the yo-kai hockey teams, the Uptown Springdale Stag Beetles are the best in the league."

"Yo-kai hockey teams?" Kira said in a confused tone as she turned to face her blonde-haired yo-kai friend.

"Hockey is a surprisingly popular sport among the yo-kai populations of Springdale, Harrisville and San Fantastico," Venoct explained to Kira, "Sometime after the phenomena, which allowed humans to interact with yo-kai, the YHL, or Yo-kai Hockey League, gained a few human fans as well, mostly students still in K-12 grades."

"Oh yeah," Eddie said to Kira, "In fact, Nate, Bear and I watched the game last night between the Harrisville Rhino Beetles and the Breezy Hills Foxes."

"Oh man, my brothers and I caught that game too," Illuminoct said with a bit of a laugh, "I loved how the Harrisville Rhino Beetles lost twelve to two! That was brutal!"

"I didn't know you were a fan of the Breezy Hills Foxes," Bear remarked to Illuminoct.

"Oh no," Illuminoct remarked, "My favorite team is the Uptown Springdale Stag Beetles. The reason why I liked the game from last night so much is that the Harrisville Rhino Beetles are my least favorite YHL team, so I really like seeing them lose."

"They just had a rough time last night, man," Bear replied, "They'll do better next game."

"Which just so happens to be against the Uptown Springdale Stag Beetles," Shadow Venoct remarked as he pulled out a little pamphlet, "If this schedule issued by the league is accurate."

"Oh, heck yeah!" Illuminoct exclaimed as he pumped a fist into the air, "The Harrisville Rhino Beetles are going down!"

"No, the Uptown Springdale Stag Beetles are going down," Bear insisted, "The Harrisville Rhino Beetles are way better than them!"

After gasping in a shocked tone, Illuminoct pointed to Bear while saying, "Blasphemy!" Illuminoct then splashed the contents of the can of soda he was drinking from into Bear's face, getting some of the soda in Bear's eyes and making the thug-faced boy drop his own drink out of surprise. As Bear covered his face while he hopped from foot to foot as he cried out in pain, the boys, Kira and her yo-kai friends were approached by Katie, Zoey and Lina. Due to Lina's head slowly swaying from side to side, it was clear that the girl who hides her eyes behind her bangs was not feeling all that well.

"Hey Kira," Katie said, getting Kira, the boys and the Venoct brothers to turn to face her and the two girls she was with.

"Oh, you're that Katie girl, aren't you?" Kira replied, "Watch'a want?"

"Katie and I are here to hire you to help with a certain matter," Zoey explained as she pushed her glasses back up a bit, "A matter that we hope you will be professional about."

"Does it relate to yo-kai somehow?" Kira asked.

"Heh," Zoey began with a mild chuckle, "You know, a little over two years ago, I wouldn't give the notion of yo-kai being behind anything any serious consideration."

"But then the phenomena happened," Shadow Venoct said, getting the glasses-wearing girl to turn her head slightly to face him.

Nodding to Shadow Venoct, Zoey replied, "Exactly."

"Hey wait a minute," Kira began in a mildly confused tone, "Not that I'm complaining about the Venoct brothers and I getting paid to do some yo-kai related work, but don't you and the other girls in your school usually get Atticus and the Kyubi brothers to do stuff like that?"

"Atticus and his yo-kai friends are currently looking for something over in the area of Excellent Tower," Katie explained, "They aren't available right now."

"So, what's the job?" Kira asked.

"First, we need to ask you something," Zoey began. With a mildly unsure look on her face, the glasses-wearing girl continued, "Are there any vampire yo-kai?"

"Vampire yo-kai?" Venoct said in a mildly confused tone, "What do you mean?"

Katie gestured to Lina, who was still swaying slightly. "It's our friend Lina here," Katie explained in a concerned tone, "The other girls and I didn't see her since sometime late afternoon, and when she showed up earlier at Triangle Park earlier, she said that she woke up in the music classroom of Springdale Elementary, with no idea how she got there."

"And how does this relate to the possible vampire yo-kai?" Shadow Venoct asked.

In response to Shadow Venoct's question, Zoey brushed aside some of Lina's hair, exposing the side of her neck. Zoey gestured for Kira and the Venoct brothers to come over and take a look. When they did, they saw, to their shock, a pair of fang marks on the side of Lina's neck, as if she had been bitten by a vampire.

"Lina's the third girl from Springdale Elementary to find themselves waking up in the music classroom of the school," Zoey explained, "And just like the first two girls, Lina found that she had these marks on the side of her neck."

"Hmm," Kira replied as she held a hand to her chin as she went deep into thought. After thinking about it for a few moments, the thirteen-year-old girl said, "The only yo-kai that I know of that qualifies as vampiric is Count Zapaway, but all that species of yo-kai is interested in is hiding the remotes from every TV. I highly doubt that a Count Zapaway is responsible."

"Hey Lina, are you okay?" Nate said in a concerned tone, "You are kind of swaying a bit."

"I feel light," Lina said in a mildly woozy tone.

"Maybe she'd feel a bit better if she got something to eat?" Venoct suggested.

"Well I do have one more of these," Nate remarked as he reached into the small plastic shopping bag he was holding and pulled out a Choco-bar. The instant Nate got that Choco-bar out of his shopping bag, to everyone's surprise, Lina rushed forward and immediately unwrapped the candy, scarfing it down as quickly as possible.

"…Lina?" Zoey said in a concerned and mildly confused tone, unsure of what to make of seeing her friend act in such a manner.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Lina said, "But when I woke up in the music classroom this morning, I felt like I was completely drained of all of the chocolate that was inside me. When I saw the Choco-bar, I…I just lost it."

"…So, we're dealing with a vampire yo-kai who drains people's chocolate levels rather than their blood?" Illuminoct said in a confused tone.

"Looks like it, boys," Kira replied. Turning to face Katie, Zoey and Lina, Kira said, "So what, do the Venoct brothers and I go into the school at night to-"

"I don't think you understand the complete severity of the situation here," Zoey interrupted, "This is a vampire we're dealing with here."

"A vampire yo-kai," Venoct clarified.

Nodding in agreement, Zoey continued, "But a vampire nonetheless. Do you know how powerful vampires are? They're regarded as one of the strongest monsters. The lot of you are going to need some serious muscle if you're considering taking on a vampire."

"So, what do you suggest?" Kira asked, mildly annoyed that she and her yo-kai friends are being underestimated but figuring that it'd be best to humor the girls for the time being.

"There's something I'm curious about," Katie said, "If there are vampire yo-kai, are there also dragon yo-kai?"

"Dragon yo-kai?" Kira replied.

"Of course," Zoey said as she tapped her fist into her hand, "If there's any monster that can take on a vampire, it's a dragon!"

"Well there are a few dragon yo-kai that come to mind for me," Venoct said to the girls, "The two strongest of those being Dragon Lord and Azure Dragon." Turning to face Kira, Venoct said, "Kira, if what these girls say is true, then it'd be in our best interest to befriend one of those dragon yo-kai before we go about challenging the vampire yo-kai that's taken to draining girls of their chocolate levels. I suggest we try for Dragon Lord, as he'd be easier to find."

"Well alright then," Kira said with a nod. Turning to face Katie, Zoey and Lina, Kira said, "If you three will give us the time, the Venoct brothers and I will go about tracking down one of those dragon yo-kai to help us, then we'll go take down that vampire yo-kai."

"Awesome," Katie said, "Thanks again for agreeing to help!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Kira and the Venoct brothers were standing outside of the candy store in Blossom Heights. "Okay boys, here's the deal," Kira said to her yo-kai friends, "We're dealing with a vampire yo-kai who is causing trouble, and in order to confront it, we need to get a dragon yo-kai on our side to help us take it down."

"Specifically, we're aiming to find Dragon Lord," Venoct said.

Nodding in agreement towards Venoct, Kira said, "Do any of you boys have any ideas on where we might be able to find this dragon yo-kai?"

Pointing in the direction behind the candy store, Illuminoct said, "How about we check out that old abandoned house at the end of Bamboo Path?"

A mildly confused look on his face, Venoct turned to face his brother and said, "You mean the Old Mansion?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Illuminoct said, "It's one of those old Japanese-style places. And if there's one thing that dragons like, it's traditional oriental architecture. We may find a Dragon Lord up in there."

With a shrug, Shadow Venoct turned to face Kira and said, "It's worth a shot."

"Well alright, boys," Kira said as she walked towards the entrance of the Bamboo Path, "Let's give it a whirl." Leading the Venoct brothers, Kira entered the Bamboo Path and walked down it on her way to the Old Mansion. "Hey boys," Kira began, "If this Old Mansion place proves to be a bust, where do you think we should-"

Kira was cut off when a roar sounded out from somewhere within the bamboo that surrounded the path. A form then rushed out, cutting Kira and the Venoct brothers off from their trek to the Old Mansion. It had a green, serpentine body with a whitish underside, purple horns on its head, orange hair on its head and small orange spikes going down its back. It also held a bluish orb in its left clawed hand.

Raising its head up, the yo-kai roared in a challenging manner at Kira and her yo-kai friends. "What the heck is that thing?!" Kira exclaimed in a mildly alarmed tone.

"Huh, well speak of the devil," Venoct remarked, "That's the yo-kai we're looking for."

"Wait, that's Dragon Lord?" Kira said when she turned to face Venoct.

Nodding in the affirmative, Venoct said, "Hopefully he'd be willing to hear us out."

"What are you lot talking about?" Dragon Lord demanded, "And why are you trying to enter the grounds of the Old Mansion? It's off limits!"

"Actually, we weren't aiming to enter the Old Mansion area just to be there," Kira explained to the dragon yo-kai, "My yo-kai friends and I were actually hoping to run into you."

"Me?" Dragon Lord replied, momentarily off-guard due to Kira's reason, "What do you lot want with me?"

"There's this vampire yo-kai who's causing trouble," Shadow Venoct explained, "We were told that in order to confront a vampire yo-kai, we need a dragon yo-kai on our side, as only dragons can take vampires down."

"Well dragons _are_ rather powerful," Dragon Lord remarked with a hint of smug pride in his tone.

"Dragon Lord, you mention that the Old Mansion is off limits," Kira said, "Who declared the Old Mansion off limits and why?"

"Well I declared it off limits because I heard rumor that there was a treasure in the Old Mansion," Dragon Lord explained rather simply, "I want that treasure."

Kira turned to face the Venoct brothers, gestured for them to keep quiet and to play along with what she was about to do, then turned back around to face Dragon Lord. "Hey Dragon Lord," Kira began, "I'd like to propose an offer."

"What kind of offer?" Dragon Lord asked.

"My yo-kai friends here and I were looking to get your assistance with a certain matter," Kira replied, "And you're aiming to get whatever treasure is in the Old Mansion. Would you be willing to allow my yo-kai friends and I to assist you in finding that treasure, and in return you help us with what we're aiming to do?"

"…I don't have to share the treasure, do I?" Dragon Lord asked, his tone sounding mildly hesitant.

"The treasure is all yours as far as I'm concerned," Kira assured the dragon yo-kai, "So what do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Dragon Lord had a look of consideration on his face as he went over Kira's offer in his mind. After a few moments, Dragon Lord said, "Alright, sounds fair."

"Sweetness!" Illuminoct cheered, pumping both fists into the air, "We're going to work with a dragon!"

* * *

After searching the entirety of the main building of the Old Mansion, Kira and company went to check out a little side house on the Old Mansion grounds. Even though the side house looked to have a second floor from the outside, upon entering the place, Kira and company saw that there was only the one floor.

"Maybe there's a hidden passage that leads to a second floor," Illuminoct suggested.

"What makes you say that?" Shadow Venoct asked his blonde-haired brother as the former proceeded to watch the latter methodically tap the wall with his knuckles as he listened for a response. "Seriously Illuminoct," Shadow Venoct said as he gently shook his head, "You've been watching too many-"

"Bingo!" Illuminoct called out, cutting Shadow Venoct off in the process, as he proceeded to push a bookcase to the side, revealing a hidden passageway that led up to a second floor. "Come on, dudes," Illuminoct said as he gestured for his brothers, Kira and Dragon Lord to follow him, "Let's go check out the second floor!" The group proceeded to follow Illuminoct up the hidden staircase, with Shadow Venoct grumbling to himself in a mildly annoyed manner.

On the second floor of the Old Mansion's side house, it was essentially just one room that consisted of a mostly straightforward path that led into a wide clearing. In the center of that clearing is a yellow chest that seemed to have a single large eye on it.

"That must be where we can find the treasure that Dragon Lord is looking for," Kira remarked. Turning to face the dragon yo-kai, Kira asked, "You want the honors of going to check what's in the chest?"

"Naturally," Dragon Lord replied as he moved over to where the chest was located. The dragon yo-kai popped the chest open, then peered inside. However, Dragon Lord's expression almost instantly changed to one of mild scowling disappointment. "Dang it," Dragon Lord remarked as he snapped his clawed fingers, "This isn't treasure!" Curious, Kira and the Venoct brothers walked over to see what was in the chest. To the surprise of Kira and the Venoct brothers, it was a Platinum Doll.

"Dragon Lord, do you know what you have here?" Venoct asked as he pointed to the extraordinarily valuable object.

"Nothing edible, that's for sure!" Dragon Lord replied.

"…What?" Kira said, a dumbfounded look on her face.

"This clearly isn't anything that someone can eat," Dragon Lord explained as he gestured to the Platinum Doll, "So it isn't treasure! What a rip off!" Kira and the Venoct brothers turned to face each other, then after a few seconds turned back to face Dragon Lord.

"Hey Dragon Lord," Kira began, "I have another proposition for you…"

…

Kira and the Venoct brothers treated Dragon Lord to a meal over at the Chinese food place in Shopper's Row. The four friends watched with mild amazement as Dragon Lord devoured serving after serving of Chili Shrimp. The thirteen-year-old girl, with the Platinum Doll safely in her bag, figured that the dragon yo-kai must not have gotten anything to eat for a while. She also figured that she made a good move in picking the Chinese food place to treat Dragon Lord to lunch at.

After he practically inhaled his fourth serving of Chili Shrimp, Dragon Lord let out a content sigh. "Now that was a treasure," Dragon Lord remarked. Looking to Kira, Dragon Lord asked, "What did you say you needed help with again?"

"My friends and I were asked to look into a matter concerning a vampire yo-kai," Kira began, "We were told that a dragon yo-kai would be our best bet in taking the vampire yo-kai down."

"That sounds pretty reasonable," Dragon Lord replied as he tossed something small up into the air with his right clawed hand. Kira caught it, and was surprised to see that it was Dragon Lord's yo-kai medal. "When do we go into action?" Dragon Lord asked.

"Tonight," Kira explained to her new yo-kai friend, "We'll be checking out the music classroom over at Springdale Elementary school."

"Well I got nothing else going on," Dragon Lord said, "Just give me a holler when you need me. After all, you know how to reach me now."

With a mildly amused grin, Kira said, "Yep!"

* * *

That night, Kira and the Venoct brothers had met up with Zoey, Lina (who is feeling better now), and Katie outside of a side door on the main building of Springdale Elementary. "I don't suppose that this vampire yo-kai spirited away another one of the girls in your class, has it?" Kira asked, "Because although it's kind of risky, the best way we have to catch the vampire yo-kai in the act is if we had bait."

"None of the girls in our class were spirited away by the vampire yo-kai, no," Lina replied with a gentle shake of her head, "But I did see Nate wander into the school earlier. Judging by the way he looked, I figured that he was under some sort of trance, like the hypnotic gaze of a vampire."

"Wait a minute," Venoct said, "It got Nate? I thought that the vampire yo-kai only went after girls as its victims. Nate is a boy."

"Maybe this has to do with the fact that the vampire yo-kai doesn't seek to drain its victims' blood, but rather their chocolate levels?" Zoey suggested, "Maybe Nate had consumed a notable quantity of chocolate prior to now."

"D'oh!" Katie nearly exclaimed as she smacked herself in the forehead, "This is all my fault!"

"What makes you say that?" Kira asked.

"I was trying to make my grandfather's hot chocolate recipe, as summer homework for my Home Ec. class," Katie explained, "As it was the first time I made it, I needed someone to taste test it for me. I got Nate to do it." Poking the tips of her index fingers together, Katie said as she blushed mildly, "I was also thinking that if I got him to try enough of something I made while cooking, that he'd like me a bit more."

"Well congratulations, missy," Shadow Venoct said in a mildly sarcastic tone, "You just got your boyfriend kidnapped by a vampire."

"Bro, dude, lighten up," Illuminoct said as he turned to face his brother, "She didn't mean for this to happen."

"And even though it's kind of a big mistake, it does pave the way to the best chance we've got to confront that vampire yo-kai," Kira remarked. To the girls, Kira said, "You three should wait in the teachers' office on the first floor. That'll keep you far from where the vampire yo-kai is at, thus giving you a reasonable safety zone."

The three girls nodded in agreement, then followed Kira and the Venoct brothers into the school's main building. Once inside the teachers' office, Kira closed the door behind her and the rest of the group. "Okay, gang," Kira said, "You all know what to do?" After everyone nodded in the affirmative, Kira said, "Good. Girls, you wait here. Boys, you're with me."

With the girls waiting in the teachers' office, Kira and the Venoct brothers proceeded to make their way up to the second floor. Due to stacks of desks blocking the way at certain points, Kira couldn't take a straightforward path to the music room on the second floor. That did not deter her, and after a few detours, Kira eventually made it to the second floor. Kira and the Venoct brothers even spotted Nate, looking like he was in a trance, enter the music classroom.

"Let's go," Kira said as she ran to the music classroom, the Venoct brothers hot on her heels. As they got closer, they could hear haunting piano music playing in the music classroom. It sounded like the kind of music that you'd expect a classic vampire movie to have. Right when she reached the door to the music classroom, Kira practically threw it open, cutting off the piano music and stopping what was going on.

To their mild horror, Kira and the Venoct brothers saw a short blue cat yo-kai wearing a black cape bending over Nate, who was laying perfectly straight on the floor, in an attempt to bite the side of his neck. Realizing that he had unexpected visitors, the cat yo-kai got back up. When he did, two tails appeared out from under his cape.

"And who might you four be?" the cat yo-kai said as he pointed to Kira and company. When the cat yo-kai talked, Kira noticed that he had two vampire-like fangs.

"Are you the vampire yo-kai that's been messing with the kids in Uptown Springdale?" Kira demanded as she got out a yo-kai medal.

"I am indeed," the cat yo-kai said with a flourish of his cape, "I am Dracunyan."

"Why are you spiriting kids away like this?" Venoct demanded.

"I am unable to normally feed on my preferred food, that being chocolate," Dracunyan explained, "That's mostly due to the fact that I can't get chocolate from the store due to a lack of money. Therefore, I resolved to place one human kid in this area a night under a trance, have them come to this room, and stay still as I drained the chocolate from their bodies. This human boy, judging by his smell, must have consumed a particularly high amount of chocolate."

"That's because a girl made him try some hot chocolate she made, but that's beside the point," Kira said. Placing the medal that she took out into her yo-kai watch, Kira said, "Come on out, my friend! Calling Dragon Lord! Yo-kai medal, do your thing!" After an amazing display of lights, designs and even a catchy little jingle, Dragon Lord was summoned into the music classroom.

As he looked around the environment he was just summoned to, Dragon Lord eventually spotted Dracunyan. "So, you're the vampire, eh?" Dragon Lord said as he focused on the cat vampire yo-kai, "Think it's all well and good to spirit kids away, huh? I hope you're as strong as you are sneaky!"

The dragon yo-kai rushed forward and clamped his maw down on Dracunyan, leaving only Dracunyan's head, feet, tails and one of his arms free. Using his free arm, Dracunyan smacked the side of Dragon Lord's face until he released him from his maw. As soon as Dracunyan stood up after tumbling down from Dragon Lord, he was hit by a large elemental earth attack, fired off by the dragon yo-kai himself.

After recovering from Dragon Lord's attack, Dracunyan launched himself forward with a jump and struck Dragon Lord in the side of his face. The basic attack did not do much, and the dragon yo-kai just smacked the cat vampire yo-kai back with a backhanded slap from his clawed hand. Even before Dracunyan landed back on the floor, Dragon Lord began to focus and charge his power. Right as Dracunyan recovered from being thrown, he saw his draconic opponent finish charging up the attack.

"What sort of-" Dracunyan began, but he was cut off before he could finish.

"Dragon Rock!" Dragon Lord called out as he flew up in a corkscrew pattern, roared, and summoned a gigantic bulk of rock and earth to come crashing down on Dracunyan. The cat vampire yo-kai was defeated, unable to overcome the sheer might of dragon kind. Upon defeat, Dracunyan poofed away in a small purple cloud of swirling smoke.

After that occurred, Nate regained his sense of self, sitting himself up. "What…what just happened?" the boy said, still trying to shake off the last bit of wooziness in his head. Looking over, Nate saw Kira and her yo-kai friends off to the side. "K…Kira?" Nate said as his tone took on a confused hint, "Where am I?"

"You're in the music classroom of Springdale Elementary," Kira explained, "A cat vampire yo-kai put you under some sort of trance, made you come here, and was about to drain you of your chocolate levels. …A chocolate-draining vampire. Huh, who knew?"

"I…I see," Nate said as he slowly got up off of the floor. To Kira, Nate said, "Did you defeat the cat vampire yo-kai?"

"My new pal Dragon Lord here did," Kira replied as she jerked a thumb at Dragon Lord.

After regarding the dragon yo-kai for a few seconds, Nate turned to Kira and said, "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to get going home now."

"Sure thing, dude," Illuminoct remarked, "We'd be glad to escort you home." Nodding in thanks, Nate proceeded to follow Kira and her yo-kai friends out of the school. When they met up with the girls in the teachers' office on the first floor, Kira and her yo-kai friends were amused to see how happy Katie was that Nate had been successfully rescued.

* * *

Over in Kira's bedroom the following morning, Kira was taking a look at some of the yo-kai medals she had. The last medal she had out before she put them away was the medal for Dragon Lord. "Wow," Kira remarked as Venoct, who was sitting on Kira's bed, watched his human friend, "Who would have guessed that I'd befriend a dragon, of all things?"

"Dragons do have a lot going for them," Venoct remarked in a tone of agreement, "Such as being superior to vampires, apparently."

Getting up out of the chair she sat in at her desk, Kira said, "You know Venoct, this was one of the very few jobs we've gotten so far where the girls in the area hired us. Not that I'm going to complain, but I can't help but wonder…where the heck was Atticus in all of this?"

"I get your point, Kira," Venoct replied, "Katie and the various other girls from the school have a tendency to go to Atticus and the Kyubi brothers for yo-kai related problems. I'm a mite curious about their whereabouts myself, if I'm to be honest."

"Meh," Kira replied with an indifferent shrug, "They can't be anywhere too far off, right?"

…

At the top of the Excellent Tower, Atticus was standing near one of the mounted binoculars, with Kyubi standing next to him. The two friends, human and yo-kai alike, seemed rather tired, as if they had pulled something of an all-nighter. After letting out a yawn (which he made sure to cover), Atticus opened his right hand to look at something that he had just picked up moments ago, a yo-kai medal.

Specifically, the one for Azure Dragon.

"It took us a while to find him," Atticus remarked to Kyubi in a mildly tired tone, "But I'm glad that the rumors we heard of Azure Dragon's whereabouts turned out to be true."

"It's always good to have a yo-kai of Azure Dragon's caliber in our corner," Kyubi agreed, "Because even considering how powerful I am, not every problem can be solved simply by incinerating it."

"What say you to heading back home and getting some rest?" Atticus suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Kyubi remarked, sounding as if he was about ready to clock out. With a new yo-kai friend on their side, Atticus and Kyubi proceeded to make their way down and out of Excellent Tower, so that they could head on home.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER THREE

Author's notes:

Well, that ends the idea I talked about at the tail end of the previous chapter. As for the next chapter that I have in mind, it'll involve a yo-kai from Shadow Venoct's past that he isn't all that fond of. It'll be a chapter that I'm certain will make you _feel the burn_.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter four: Feel the burn!

On a lovely enough day in Uptown Springdale, over at the Adams residence, Adams family matriarch Lily was in the kitchen, bending down to open a cabinet under the sink to get out a small box that contained plastic sandwich-sized bags. Normally, such an action would prove to be no problem for Lily. However, Lily had been inspirited by a trio of Hungorges, a species of yo-kai, over a fair period of time.

Luckily for Lily, her son Nate had gotten a local girl who befriended yo-kai to step in and drive the trio of Hungorges off. But the damage had still been done; because of the influence of those three Hungorges, Lily was now, in all honesty, a rather plump and well-fed woman.

Her now ample belly making it somewhat difficult for her to bend over to reach for the box of sandwich-sized plastic bags, Lily said under her breath, "Come on, just a little more-"

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP*

Lily's eyes widened in shock as she heard the ripping of fabric. She also felt the tear of fabric as well. Standing straight back up almost instantly, Lily proceeded to cover her rear end with her hands. When she did, Lily felt something that confirmed her fears.

Her denim shorts ripped.

As Lily began to blush with embarrassment, she saw her son Nate walk into the kitchen. "Morning, mom," Nate greeted in a friendly tone, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Oh, I slept well, sweetie," Lily replied, her tone carrying a mild amount of strain brought on by embarrassment, "Say Nate, can you do me a favor?"

"What's up?" Nate asked, his friendly expression showing that he was oblivious to what was going on.

As she moved out of the kitchen while making sure her son would not see the ripped area of her denim shorts, Lily said, "I need you to get the box of sandwich-sized plastic bags out from the cabinet under the sink."

"Sure thing," Nate replied as he immediately bent down, reached into the cabinet, and pulled out the box of sandwich-sized plastic bags. While he was holding the box, Nate asked, "What should I do with it?"

"Oh, just set it on the counter next to the sink," Lily replied as she made her way to the staircase. As she proceeded to walk backwards up the stairs, Lily continued, "I'm also going to need you to stay down there until I reach the top of the stairs."

"Umm…okay?" Nate replied in a confused tone. Nate is never one to disobey his parents, and he always does as they tell him. Even so, this does not keep Nate from becoming baffled by some of the weirder things his parents have asked him to do, although this was the first time Nate's mom has ever asked him something that came off as kind of weird. The weirdest part of all of this was how Nate's mom was acting.

After about a minute, Lily called down the stairs, "Okay, Nate! It's safe to come up the stairs now."

This all felt off to Nate; his mother never acted weird before to his knowledge. But then again, his mom never acted like this prior to the incident involving those three yo-kai that Nate got Kira and her yo-kai friends to drive off. Maybe this is all related? The Adams boy resolved to find the thirteen-year-old girl who befriends yo-kai and ask her for her help in this matter.

* * *

"…Huh," Kira said as she met up with Nate, Eddie and Bear outside of the candy shop in Blossom Heights, "You're saying that you mom walked out of the kitchen in a weird way this morning, Nate?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Nate said, "She didn't turn around once. It was as if she wanted me to see her only from the front."

"Maybe she bent over to get something and ripped a hole in her pants or whatever she wears," Illuminoct remarked. As per usual, Kira was accompanied by her three closest yo-kai friends, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct. "Yeah," Illuminoct continued, "I'm guessing that's the reason why your mom walked in a weird way out of the kitchen."

"Things have been kind of weird over at my family's place ever since you guys got rid of those three yo-kai who made my mom eat a lot," Nate remarked to Kira and the Venoct brothers in a concerned tone, "I'm kind of worried."

"Hey Kira," Venoct began as he turned to face Kira, "Aren't we supposed to be trying to track down a Nekidspeed to help with getting Mrs. Adams to lose weight?"

"It's been slow going on that, not helped by the fact that we've been busy with other jobs," Kira pointed out, "Or have you forgotten?"

"I was figuring that trying to track down a Nekidspeed could be like a side-job or something," Venoct replied, "I mean, this could be a follow-up job that we can-"

"Hang on a minute," Eddie interrupted, "If you're looking for a yo-kai to help with getting Nate's mom to lose weight, then I may have the solution."

"What do you mean?" Kira asked as she and the Venoct brothers all turned to face Eddie.

"Yesterday," Eddie began, "When some of the other kids in my class and I were at Springdale Elementary because we wanted to use the field to play soccer, I climbed up one of those really tall poles because I was trying to impress a girl from a different class who showed up to watch the soccer game. I reached the top of the tallest pole, which let me see the roof of the school. When I got a view of the school's roof, I saw this muscular yo-kai performing some exercises."

"You saw a muscular yo-kai performing exercises," Kira replied in a mild tone of disbelief, "On the roof of the school."

Nodding in the affirmative, Eddie continued, "I could tell it was a yo-kai because humans don't have horns coming out of their foreheads."

"Sounds like an oni-type yo-kai to me," Venoct remarked, "Can you continue describing this fellow to us?"

With a single nod in the affirmative, Eddie said, "The yo-kai had a single horn coming out of his forehead, like I said. He also had this sort-of orange skin, he wore a green men's tank top, a green loincloth over a pair of green gym shorts, and a pair of-"

"-Yellow fingerless gloves," Shadow Venoct said, finishing Eddie's sentence for him.

"Uhh, yeah," Eddie replied in a mildly confused tone, "Umm, do you know who I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, Shadow Venoct," Kira remarked, "Have you encountered the yo-kai Eddie is talking about sometime in the past?"

"Yes, although I wish I hadn't met him," Shadow Venoct replied. Turning so that he properly faced Kira, Shadow Venoct said, "If we can get ahold of the yo-kai that Eddie is talking about, then he will undoubtedly be of great help of getting Mrs. Adams back into shape. He'd certainly be loads more effective than a Nekidspeed, that's for sure."

"Well alright," Kira began, "Looks like we-"

"However," Shadow Venoct interrupted, "I have to warn you that this yo-kai can be a tad overbearing at times. Not to mention he constantly tries to promote his fitness and exercise routine. I hear he even has his own work out show now."

"Hey bro, quick question," Illuminoct said to Shadow Venoct, "Do you like this guy?"

"Not one bit," Shadow Venoct replied instantly, "But I'm not going to let that stop our professional attitude when it comes to helping people with yo-kai related problems."

"How is Nate's mom being hot dog eating champ material a yo-kai related problem?" Bear asked as he raised a hand.

"Because it was the influence of yo-kai that made Mrs. Adams like that in the first place," Venoct pointed out, "And potentially, we can use yo-kai influence to get Mrs. Adams back down to a manageable weight."

Sighing in a resigned tone, Shadow Venoct said, "I'm probably not going to like where this is going, but it's our best bet, so I guess I'll have to deal with it."

"Alright, boys," Kira said to her yo-kai friends, "Let's go check out the roof of Springdale Elementary to see if we can find that oni yo-kai that Eddie said he saw."

* * *

A short while later, Kira and the Venoct brothers walked through doors on the very top of the main building for Springdale Elementary, allowing them access to the roof. When they did, they saw the very yo-kai that Eddie had described to them. The muscular orange-skinned yo-kai was currently in the middle of an exercise routine.

Sighing in a mildly annoyed tone, Shadow Venoct said, "Yup, it's him, alright."

"Try not to tear his head off," Kira said, "We're going to need him if we're to get Mrs. Adams back down to a healthy weight." Leading the Venoct brothers, Kira approached the exercising yo-kai. "Excuse me!" Kira called out, getting the exercising yo-kai to stop mid routine and turn to face her.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting anyone to be wanting to join me in exercising," the yo-kai remarked in a pleasantly surprised tone, "But I don't have any objections." Pointing dramatically at Kira, the exercising yo-kai declared, "My name is Sergeant Burly, and I'm about to enroll you in Burly's Beat Camp!"

"Oh, it's _Sergeant_ Burly now," Shadow Venoct said in a sarcastically surprised tone as he stepped forward, "Last I heard it was Private Burly. Got yourself promoted now, did you?"

"Oh, uhh, hey there Shadow Venoct," Sergeant Burly said in a mildly unsure tone, "Umm, long time no see, huh?"

"Look, we can work out what happened in the past at a later time, you jerk," Shadow Venoct remarked, "Right now, my brothers and our human friend Kira need your help with something."

"What's on the agenda?" Sergeant Burly asked as he walked up to Kira and the Venoct brothers.

"Recently, my yo-kai friends here and I took care of a yo-kai related problem where a trio of Hungorges made a woman living in the Uptown Springdale area stuff herself silly," Kira began to explain, "This woman is the mother of the kid who hired my friends and I for the job. We drove the Hungorges off and completed the job."

"So, what's the problem?" Sergeant Burly asked.

"The mother of the kid who hired my yo-kai friends and I is still kind of on the heavier end of things, so to speak," Kira replied, "From what Shadow Venoct told me about you when someone reported seeing you, we have reason to believe that you might be able to help us out on this one."

"Heh, is that what this is all about?" Sergeant Burly said with a bit of an amused laugh, "You want me to get some chunky chicken nugget back into shape? Well why didn't you say so from the start? If there's anyone who can do what you're asking for, it's me, Sergeant Burly!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Shadow Venoct said in a mildly annoyed tone, "We know the drill. Feel the burn and all that good jazz."

"You…you don't really like him, do you?" Venoct asked as he turned to face his brother.

"Just because I don't like him doesn't mean I'm not willing to put up with him if he's helping us with something," Shadow Venoct replied.

"What…what happened between you and Sergeant Burly in the past?" Kira asked.

"I'll tell you later," Shadow Venoct replied, "Right now, we got work to do."

* * *

Later, Kira, Nate, Lily and the Venoct brothers were at the Springdale Sports Club. Lily was dressed for working out; she was outfitted in a purple leotard, yellow leggings and lavender leg warmers. Kira and Nate were both in standard workout outfits that were appropriate to the gender of the person that was wearing them. They even had the benefit of matching the general color scheme of their respective usual outfits.

"It's a good thing that you're yo-kai sensitive, Mrs. Adams," Venoct remarked as he turned to face Lily, "Because the personal trainer that my brothers, Kira and I got ahold of for you is a yo-kai who is well-known in the yo-kai world as something of a fitness instructor."

"Wait a minute," Lily said as she held her arms out to her sides, "Since I can see yo-kai like you guys, then how come I couldn't see the three who made me like this?"

"They were actively cloaking themselves, Mrs. Adams," Kira explained, "Luckily for us, my yo-kai watch can uncloak yo-kai who are actively cloaking themselves. But that's beside the point for the time being."

"Indeed," Illuminoct remarked, "The point of the moment is that we're going to set you up with one of the finest fitness instructors that the yo-kai world has to offer."

It was at that point that Sergeant Burly came walking into the room that everyone was in. "Alright, ya chunky chicken nuggets," Sergeant Burly began, "Now that the master, that being me, has finally arrived, we can get down to-" The exercising yo-kai stopped midsentence upon seeing Lily. "Umm, wow," Sergeant Burly remarked in a surprised tone.

"Oh, don't you even start on that, you jerk!" Shadow Venoct snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Sergeant Burly.

"No, no," Sergeant Burly remarked in a mildly resigned tone, "It's not that. It's just…" Pointing to Lily, Sergeant Burly said, "…She reminds me of how I used to be."

"…What?" Shadow Venoct replied in a deadpan tone.

Sighing in a mildly resigned tone once again, Sergeant Burly said, "It's true. I wasn't always the lean and mean fitness machine that you see before you today. There was a time in my past that I myself was a chunky chicken nugget."

"That must be from sometime before we met one another," Shadow Venoct remarked.

"Putting aside your unusual euphemisms and the bad blood between you and Shadow Venoct, how did things change?" Venoct asked the exercising yo-kai.

"I met a strong yo-kai one day," Sergeant Burly went on, "He was not only strong, but fit as well. He got me working out, and eventually I dropped all of that extra weight I had. But then I took that yo-kai's teachings a step further, transforming myself into the yo-kai you see before you today!" Sergeant Burly then flexed his arms, showing off his bulging muscles.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Shadow Venoct said in a mildly annoyed tone. Pointing to Sergeant Burly, Shadow Venoct continued, "Look, we don't need Mrs. Adams to become a muscular freak like you. We just need you to get her back to this." Shadow Venoct took out a photo which he handed to Sergeant Burly. It was a photo of Lily back before she stuffed herself silly under the influence of those three Hungorges.

"Hey, how did you get that photo?" Lily asked, more curious than anything.

"Nate gave it to the boys and I at my request," Kira explained, "We needed a point of reference to show to Sergeant Burly so that he'd understand what we're asking for."

After looking back and forth between the photo of Lily and Lily as she was at the moment, Sergeant Burly said, "I can do that." Handing the photo back to Shadow Venoct, Sergeant Burly continued, "This reminds me of how that yo-kai helped to get me back into shape. I always wanted to for someone what that yo-kai did for me. You know, to pay it forward."

"Alright, we'll leave you to it," Kira said as she and her yo-kai friends turned to leave. The four of them didn't get too far, however, before they were stopped.

"Hold it right there, you four!" Sergeant Burly called out, getting Kira and the Venoct brothers to stop in place.

Sighing in an annoyed tone, Shadow Venoct said as he and the others turned back around, "What the heck do you want this time, you bronze-skinned buffoon?"

"Who ever said that this chunky chicken nugget was the only one I'm enrolling into Burly's Beat Camp?" Sergeant Burly asked while jerking a thumb at Lily. Pointing dramatically to Kira and her yo-kai friends, Sergeant Burly continued, "You four are also going to get in on the action!"

"No," Shadow Venoct replied instantly.

"Although a good work out does sound nice, my brothers, Kira and I are already in good physical shape," Venoct pointed out, "There shouldn't be any need for the four of us to join you and Mrs. Adams in working out."

"Working out is always better if people do it in a group!" Sergeant Burly declared.

"He's got a point," Nate said, "In fact, my mom usually works out in a group with Mrs. Forester and Mrs. Bernstein. But neither of them are available right now, so I'm joining mom's work out group instead."

"Aww, well aren't you a mommy's little prince," Illuminoct remarked.

"Mommy's little prince?" Kira repeated in a confused tone.

"That's the opposite gender counterpart of daddy's little princess, right?" Illuminoct asked as he turned to face his human friend.

"You're…technically correct, I suppose," Kira replied in a mildly unsure and confused tone, "But I never heard it quite put that way before."

"I never heard it put that way before either," Lily remarked, "Although it does kind of have a nice ring to it, now that I think about it."

"Enough of that stuff!" Sergeant Burly declared, "It's time for Burly's Beat Camp!"

" _Someone out there must hate me_ , _I swear_ ," Shadow Venoct thought as he reluctantly went back over with his brothers and Kira to where they were standing before they tried to leave.

* * *

"Work those deltoids!" Sergeant Burly exclaimed as he led Kira, the Venoct brothers, Nate and Lily in a workout routine, "Bring those knees up! Knees up! Knees up!"

With the exercising yo-kai getting into leading the group work out, the Venoct brothers found themselves free to talk quietly amongst themselves. "You know, I think Mrs. Adams is really getting into this," Venoct said to Shadow Venoct. The two of them turned their respective heads to see Lily mirroring the movements Sergeant Burly was making, working up a sweat in the process. The two brothers turned back to face each other, with Venoct saying, "I think that this might actually work."

"At least Atticus the Kyubi brothers don't have to put up with this musclebound moron," Shadow Venoct whispered to his more optimistic brother.

"Oh, come on," Venoct replied as he and his brothers continued to go along with the workout routine, "You really need to cut Sergeant Burly some slack."

"I _am_ cutting him some slack," Shadow Venoct said, "It's just that I got a lot of beef with Sergeant Burly is all."

"We can go over that at a later time," Venoct remarked, "And as a side note, you mentioning Atticus and the Kyubi brothers got me thinking. What are they up to right now?"

…

In a vault room in the back of Gourd Pond Museum in Breezy Hills, Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi were fighting a gigantic animated suit of samurai armor. The one sword that it held had broken, and when Frostail threw an elemental ice attack at the armor's body, it shattered, revealing a small mouse inside, apparently operating the armor as if it were a giant mech robot. In this state, the armor was helpless.

"Alright, guys," Atticus said as he stood behind his yo-kai friends, "The Phantasamurai is down! Finish it off!" Frostail and Darkyubi proceeded to repeatedly throw elemental ice and draining attacks at the downed Phantasamurai while Kyubi started charging up a powerful fire attack. When he was finished, Kyubi threw a great inferno at the downed boss yo-kai, finishing it off before the mouse, who was struggling to repair the armor, could even finish.

After the defeated boss yo-kai disappeared in a swirling cloud of purple smoke, Atticus and the Kyubi brothers were approached by what seemed to be a normal high school girl, albeit with long dark hair that was wild in some places. This girl was actually floating in midair, and holding a journal with a red cover.

"I knew that there was some manner of cursed object in this museum," the floating high school girl said to Atticus and the three fox yo-kai, "But I did not expect such a reaction when we tried looking into the matter. I'm sorry for any trouble you four went through on my behalf."

"It is a nonfactor, Foiletta," Darkyubi assured the floating high school girl, who is actually a yo-kai, "You'd be surprised how often things like this tend to pop up for my brothers, Atticus and I. In fact, I'd say that this was easier than our fight against the Tarantutor." Turning to face his brothers, Darkyubi asked, "What do you guys think?"

"I think that fight was actually easier than the one we had against the Tarantutor," Frostail remarked, "Despite the fact we were dealing with a giant animated suit of samurai armor that was wilding swinging katanas around."

"Now that the little nuisance we just finished dealing with is out of the way," Kyubi began, "What about that thing you said you were looking for, Foiletta?"

"Kyubi's got a point," Atticus remarked, "This is the only place in the museum that we haven't check yet for that missing item you're trying to locate."

"It should be among the stored objects here," Foiletta replied, "Give me a moment." Atticus and his yo-kai friends proceeded to watch as Foiletta went about searching the entire vault room. After about a minute or so, the high school girl yo-kai exclaimed, "Aha!" Foiletta then held up what looked like a necklace of some kind. It had a charm that resembled a magatama.

"That's the thing you were looking for?" Atticus asked Foiletta as he pointed to the necklace that she held.

Nodding in the affirmative, Foiletta said, "This was given to me by a friend of mine a while ago, before I became known as Foiletta. However, this was confiscated from me when I visited this museum by a curator who thought it was an actual magatama necklace that I was trying to steal from the museum, even though the museum doesn't have any such display. Later that night I had an asthma attack, and when I woke up I found that I had become a yo-kai."

"So now that you got your necklace back, are you good to go?" Atticus asked.

"There is one more thing," Foiletta admitted, "Do you know of Mount Middleton, over in the Harrisville area? There is a small sort of shrine at the top of Mount Middleton." Holding up the necklace she recovered, Foiletta said, "My friend who gave me this necklace and I always wanted to go to the top of Mount Middleton so that we could see the view. But then I became a yo-kai, so that plan flew out the window." Lowering the arm that she was using to hold the necklace, Foiletta said, "The last thing I can think of before I can feel at peace is to go to Mount Middleton's summit and see the view. I can't do so with my friend physically, but I feel I can do so with her in spirit if I bring this necklace she gave me along."

"Harrisville, huh?" Atticus remarked, "You know, I've been meaning to check that place out myself at some point. It's going to be a bit of a trip, but it's nothing I'd object to." Turning to face the Kyubi brothers, Atticus added, "Unless any of you three have any objections."

"That sounds like a peaceful journey where one can take in the sights," Frostail remarked, "Count me in."

"I'm itching to see all of this come to fruition, so I'm in as well," Kyubi said.

"I myself am also wanting to see Harrisville," Darkyubi stated, "So I'd be glad to tag along."

With a mildly amused smirk, Atticus turned to face Foiletta and said, "Looks like we're all in, Foiletta. When are you ready to head out?"

"As soon as you are," Foiletta answered, "I'll be waiting for you in the train station in Downtown Springdale." With that, Foiletta poofed away in a cloud of swirling purple smoke. After Foiletta had left, Atticus turned to face the Kyubi brothers.

"Well, looks like we ought to get ready for a trip," Atticus remarked.

"We haven't had a job that took us out of Springdale since the time we had to go check out that small shrine in San Fantastico," Frostail said, "This is kind of exciting."

Atticus merely hummed to himself in mild amusement; leave it to Frostail to be eager for a job that involved travel. But then again, who doesn't like to roam about, to take in the sights and experience new things? It was something that Atticus could not blame Frostail for in the least.

* * *

Sometime later, Sergeant Burly was back at the Springdale Sports Club, working with Lily to help her lose weight. Nate, Kira and the Venoct brothers were also there, working out alongside Lily. "Get ready for some core work!" Sergeant Burly declared suddenly into the work out, "Get on the floor!"

"I can't believe that we're actually doing this," Shadow Venoct remarked to himself as he and everyone else laid on the floor on their backs.

"Let's see some sit ups, ladies!" Sergeant Burly commanded, "Come on, squeeze those abs!"

"Th-this is really exhausting," Lily huffed in a mildly exhausted manner as she was finding trying to do a sit up to be something of a challenge.

"I SAID SQUEEZE THEM!" Sergeant Burly exclaimed, startling everyone into successfully doing one sit up each.

As everyone started to do some sit ups, Shadow Venoct turned to Illuminoct and said, "You know, Atticus and the Kyubi brothers are really lucky in that they aren't being forced into some sort of workout."

* * *

Over in the Harrisville area, Atticus and the Kyubi brothers got a good workout by climbing up to the top of Mount Middleton, not that such physical activity was a bother to them. When they reached the summit, they all took pause to take in the view.

"Now I see why Foiletta and her friend wanted to come all the way up here," Frostail remarked in a tone of amazement, "The view up here is breathtakingly beautiful."

"And we got here right when the sun is setting, so our timing could not have been better," Atticus said. Turning around, Atticus face Foiletta, the client of the job that Atticus and his yo-kai friends had undertaken. "So Foiletta, where is the shrine?" Atticus asked.

After looking around for a bit, Foiletta saw something and pointed to it. "It's over there," Foiletta replied, making Atticus and the Kyubi brothers turn to face a simple stone pillar that resembled the carved stone grave markers you would often see in a Japanese cemetery. Going over to the shrine, Foiletta took a good look at it. "…Oh, so that's what it's here for," Foiletta remarked aloud to herself. Turning back around to face the others, Foiletta said, "My friend and I talked about what the shrine at the top of Mount Middleton was for. After taking a look at it, I learned that both my guess and my friend's guess was wrong."

"That's kind of funny, if you think about it," Kyubi remarked.

After a few seconds, Foiletta chuckled a bit. "Heh, I see what you're getting at," Foiletta replied.

"So, what's on the agenda now?" Atticus asked the high school girl yo-kai.

"Now…" Foiletta began, "…I'm good, actually." Pulling out the necklace she recovered from the vault room over at the Gourd Pond Museum, Foiletta said as she looked at the magatama charm, "You guys have done all that I could have asked of you. Now that I've settled everything that's been on my mind, I…I have no idea what to do now, actually."

With a shrug, Atticus said, "I'm sure you think of-"

"Already did that," Foiletta said, interrupting Atticus in the process. Foiletta floated over to Atticus and said, "Hold your hand out." Doing at he was asked, Atticus held his hand out. When he did, Foiletta deposited something into Atticus's outheld hand. Taking a look at what he got, Atticus saw that it was Foiletta's yo-kai medal.

"Huh, thanks," Atticus replied in a mildly surprised tone, "Glad to have you on board."

"I kind of feel that be became friends over the course of you guys helping me," Foiletta replied, "So why not make it official?"

"Welcome to the team, Foiletta," Kyubi said, "You could not have picked a better group to join."

"We're looking forward to working with you," Frostail remarked.

"I'm looking forward to it as well," Foiletta said, her eyes closed as she smiled. Atticus was glad to have recruited a new yo-kai friend, especially one like Foiletta. She doesn't seem like the kind of being who'd get on Atticus's nerves.

* * *

Sergeant Burly was without a doubt the kind of being who'd get on Shadow Venoct's nerves, but that's beside the point. It had been a week since Sergeant Burly started working with Lily to help her lose weight, and Kira and the Venoct brothers were walking up to the Springdale Sports Club to see how things were going for the well-fed matriarch of the Adams family. It was getting close to evening, as the sun was setting, so the group expected to meet up with Lily and Nate outside of the sports club as it was closing down for the evening.

"It's been a few days since we left Mrs. Adams with Sergeant Burly," Shadow Venoct remarked to his brothers and Kira as they walked, "You don't think that he somehow screwed things up, do you? Because I sure do."

"Okay, Shadow Venoct," Kira replied, "I've got to know. What happened in the past between you and Sergeant Burly that caused your deep-seated anger at him?"

Shadow Venoct was about to explain why he has a beef with Sergeant Burly, but before he could say a word, the group heard Nate call out, "Hey Kira, Venoct, Shadow Venoct, Illuminoct! Over here!" Kira and her yo-kai friends turned in the direction that Nate's call came from. When they did, they saw Nate and Lily walking up to them with Sergeant Burly. To the surprise of Kira and the Venoct brothers, Lily was as slim as she was in the photo that was shown to Sergeant Burly.

"Behold the awesomeness of my patented exercise routine!" Sergeant Burly said to the group as he gestured to Lily, "I took the chunky chicken nugget that you brought to me and turned her into a brand-new woman!"

"…What?" Shadow Venoct said, his tone clearly showing that he could not believe what he was hearing or seeing.

"It does feel good to finally be able to go back to my original wardrobe," Lily remarked, "Boy, let me tell you that I never want to go through that again!"

"…What?" Shadow Venoct said again, and with the same tone as before.

Lily and Nate took their leave, leaving Kira and the Venoct brothers with Sergeant Burly. Looking into the distance in which Lily and Nate left, Sergeant Burly sighed. "I've always wanted to pay forward the kindness that yo-kai who helped me did," the exercising yo-kai remarked, "After working with that woman, I'd like to think I succeeded on that part."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Kira asked the exercising yo-kai. At that prompting, Sergeant Burly threw on a full travel suit, as if in a flash.

Putting a fedora onto his head, Sergeant Burly said as he picked up a suitcase, "My work here is done. I'm going to be going on tour to promote Burly's Beat Camp, and maybe see if I can help another chunky chicken nugget drop his or her spare tire. But if you ever wanna get ahold of me, though…"

The exercising yo-kai paused midsentence, reached into the front pocket of his suit top, pulled something out and handed it to Kira. When she saw what it was, Kira was mildly surprised that it was Sergeant Burly's yo-kai medal. When Kira and the Venoct brothers looked to Sergeant Burly, the exercising yo-kai flashed a smile and said, "…You how to reach me." Turning around, Sergeant Burly then walked into the sunset, leaving his new human friend behind.

After Sergeant Burly was out of sight, Shadow Venoct said, "Well Kira, I suppose that's one yo-kai friend you'll never be calling upon."

"What yo-kai now?" a familiar voice called out, getting Kira and the Venoct brothers to turn around. When they did, they saw Atticus and the Kyubi brothers come up. It had been Atticus who had called out.

"What did we miss while we were gone?" Kyubi asked.

"Nate's mom got back down to her original weight thanks to the help of a yo-kai who just gave his yo-kai medal to Kira," Shadow Venoct explained.

"Really," Atticus replied, "Well, the Kyubi brothers and I just got back from a trip that we took out to Harrisville."

"Harrisville?" Kira replied in a confused tone, "What the heck were the four of you doing all the way out there?"

"Assisting a friendly yo-kai with a matter she presented to us," Atticus explained, "She even gave me her yo-kai medal when all was said and done."

"Heh," Kira chuckled in an amused tone, "It looks like both of our respective little groups are growing by the day, wouldn't you say, Atticus?"

"It seems like it," Atticus replied, right before everyone shared a group laugh. Atticus and the Kyubi brothers even joined Kira and the Venoct brothers in walking back to Uptown Springdale. As they made their way back to their neighborhood, the two humans and six yo-kai felt that things were going to go pretty smoothly.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER FOUR

Author's notes:

I thought that some follow-up on the job Kira and her yo-kai friends had in chapter one was necessary, and I figured that at least some people would get a kick out of seeing Sergeant Burly hitting the scene, so I came up with this chapter. Also, the B-plot involving Atticus and Foiletta sort of plays with the idea that has been presented in the series proper of how some yo-kai used to be humans. Anywho, the next chapter will see two S-rank rare yo-kai arguing with each other about what's the best way to deal with a boss enemy.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter five: How to beat a boss yo-kai without really trying

Mount Wildwood was the local mountain of the Springdale area. There were a number of places on the mountain, including but not limited to Catfish Pond. It was this particular location on Mount Wildwood that Kira and Atticus, two thirteen-year-olds who have both befriended various yo-kai, were heading up to. They weren't alone, either; Kira was accompanied by her yo-kai friend Venoct, and Atticus was accompanied by his yo-kai friend Kyubi.

"You know what my group of yo-kai friends need?" Kira said in a conversational tone right when the group reached the shrine with the elderly man who sold talismans.

"I don't know, a crockpot?" Kyubi replied jokingly in a monotone as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Some serious firepower," Kira answered.

"What are you talking about?" Atticus asked, "I mean sure, more yo-kai friends is always a good thing, but aren't you pretty good in the firepower department? I mean, you are rolling with Venoct and his two brothers, and they are a pretty formidable lot." With something of a smirk, Atticus added, "They're almost as strong as Kyubi and his brothers."

"No, Venoct and his brother are tougher, but that's beside the point," Kira said. Getting back to her original tone, Kira said, "When I said firepower, I was talking about _literal_ firepower. As in, a powerful fire-attribute yo-kai."

"Well good luck with finding a yo-kai like that, Kira," Venoct said, "The only powerful fire-attribute yo-kai that comes to mind for me is Kyubi, and something tells me he doesn't want to join up with us."

"Exactly," Kyubi said in a tone of agreement.

"Well it doesn't hurt to-" Kira began to reply, but she was cut off midsentence when she and the rest of the group heard the sounds of battle just up ahead. "…The heck is all that about?" Kira asked rhetorically as the sounds of battle rang in the distance.

"Sounds to me like a battle is going down over at Catfish Pond," Atticus replied, "Since the lot of us were on our way over there anyway, let's go check it out." The two humans and the two yo-kai proceeded to pick up the pace and make a quick dash for Catfish Pond. Upon getting a view of the pond from around a turn, the group stopped, surprised by what they were seeing.

There was a large and powerful-looking yo-kai at the lake. It had the upper body of a man but its lower body was a boat with a ship sail, and there was a long and thick fishing line sprouting out of the top of its head. This large yo-kai was busy battling two other yo-kai that seemed keen on taking it down.

The first of these two yo-kai was a bright red anthropomorphic dog wearing a scarf and holding a weapon that appeared to resemble a bright red icicle for some reason. This dog yo-kai was using a lot of elemental fire attacks as he and his fellow fought the large yo-kai. As for the second yo-kai, he resembled a humanoid Hercules beetle wearing purple samurai armor. A single long horn poked out through this yo-kai's helmet, his shoulder and arm guards were secured by light blue straps, and a belt of similar color to the straps was around his waist. The second yo-kai was using powerful physical strikes to attack the large yo-kai.

"What the heck is going on here?" Kira asked as she and the others watched the fight, the fighters unaware that they had an audience.

"That large yo-kai that looks like he's half fisherman and half fishing boat," Venoct began, "That's SV Snaggerjag, a large and powerful yo-kai that most like to give a wide berth if they ever encounter him. As for the two yo-kai that are fighting him, that red dog yo-kai that's using fire attacks is Swelterrier, and the beetle yo-kai in the purple armor is Hornaplenty."

"Swelterrier and Hornaplenty are both strong yo-kai in and of themselves," Kyubi remarked, "And like Venoct and myself, they are both S-rank."

"The question though is why they're fighting that fisherman yo-kai," Atticus said.

"I agree," Kira added, "What got into their undies that's prompting them to-"

Kira was cut off when SV Snaggerjag threw the fishing line on his head into the lake and pulled out a yo-kai that resembled a giant catfish. The instant the catfish yo-kai appeared, Hornaplenty immediately switched from attacking SV Snaggerjag to attacking the catfish yo-kai. Swelterrier, on the other hand, decided to continue attacking the boss yo-kai.

"What are you doing?!" Hornaplenty snapped at his impromptu teammate, "Focus on the minion that was just brought in, Swelterrier!"

"The goal is to beat SV Snaggerjag, right?" Swelterrier replied, "Then it's best to focus on beating him down until we win!"

"Neither of those ideas will work because I'm going to beat the both of you!" SV Snaggerjag declared as he swung his fishing line at Swelterrier, striking the fire dog yo-kai in the head.

Back over where she watched with Atticus, Kyubi and Venoct, Kira said, "Hey, shouldn't we, like, go in and help them? I mean, if one more of those weird catfish yo-kai pop up, Swelterrier and Hornaplenty will be in some seriously deep trouble."

"I would certainly like to head in and lend those two a hand against SV Snaggerjag," Kyubi began, "And I'm certain that Atticus would agree with me. However, I get the feeling that those two would rather handle things here on their own."

"I'm getting that feeling myself, Kyubi," Atticus remarked, "And you're right in assuming that I'd head in with you." The two humans and their respective yo-kai friends continued to watch the fight between the boss yo-kai and the two S-rank yo-kai. As the fight dragged on, Kira grew more and more worried that SV Snaggerjag was going to win.

Kira was also concerned about Swelterrier. Not only is the fire dog yo-kai a powerful fire-attribute yo-kai, which Kira said she's been wanting to get ahold of, but even Kira, who normally does not do or like things considered by and large to be 'girly', would flat out admit that she thought that Swelterrier looked adorable, and she wouldn't be opposed to gushing over that fact.

When SV Snaggerjag swung his fishing line around again, striking Swelterrier in the eye with the curved part of the fishing hook, making him yelp in pain as a result, Kira said, "You know what, forget this!" As she proceeded to run towards the two-on-one fight, Kira said, "Venoct, we're going in!"

"R-right!" Venoct replied as he rushed forward along with Kira.

Sighing in a mildly annoyed tone, Atticus said, "Looks like we're pitching in after all, Kyubi."

"Got it," Kyubi replied as he went towards the fight alongside Atticus.

Over at the fight, SV Snaggerjag, who was now accompanied by two of those weird catfish yo-kai, seemed to have the upper hand against Swelterrier and Hornaplenty. "Looks like this fight is in the bag for me!" SV Snaggerjag declared boastfully, "The two of you should have known better than to-"

"Octo Snake!"

"Inferno!"

SV Snaggerjag was cut off when he was hit, seemingly out of nowhere, by two powerful attacks from two powerful yo-kai. As the boss yo-kai reeled back due to being stunned, Swelterrier and Hornaplenty turned to face the directions the attacks came from so they could see who came in to rescue them. When they saw two humans and two yo-kai, to say that the S-rank yo-kai were caught off guard would be an understatement. SV Snaggerjag, once he recovered from getting hit out of nowhere, also expressed surprise by the sudden arrivals.

"Forget this!" SV Snaggerjag exclaimed as he swung his fishing line around a lot before swinging it down on the surface of the water, creating a huge splash that acted as a smokescreen for the boss yo-kai so that everyone wouldn't see him escape. After the water settled down, Swelterrier and Hornaplenty turned to face their rescuers.

"Hey, hey I recognize you two," Hornaplenty said as he pointed to Venoct and Kyubi, "The both of you are top tier yo-kai! Yeah, your names are Venoct and Kyubi!"

"Venoct and Kyubi?" Swelterrier said in an indifferent and confused tone as he scratched the side of his nose, "Who the heck are they?"

"Curb your tongue!" Hornaplenty snapped at his impromptu teammate, "They are both venerable and powerful yo-kai whose very names are the stuff of legend! The very idea that you have no clue as to who they are baffles me!"

"I still have no Wait a minute," Swelterrier said, deviating midsentence, "Is that Venoct fellow somehow related to Illuminoct? That guy's pretty funny."

"Illuminoct is my brother, yes," Venoct replied in a mildly confused tone. Shifting gears, Venoct continued, "Anywho, what were you two doing fighting SV Snaggerjag?"

"Oh, he was being a jerk and making it very difficult for other yo-kai to have fun playing in and around Catfish Pond," Swelterrier explained. Pointing to Hornaplenty, Swelterrier said while still facing Venoct, "So this guy and I decided to fight him. What are you guys doing here?"

"The four of us came here to Catfish Pond because we intended to get some catfish for someone who is paying us to catch some fresh catfish for them," Atticus explained.

"Say, I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, but what are you humans doing with Venoct and Kyubi?" Hornaplenty asked Kira and Atticus.

"Venoct and I have befriended Kira and Atticus respectively," Kyubi explained, "As you should be able to see, Atticus and Kira each possesses a Yo-kai Watch." At that prompting, the two thirteen-year-olds showed their respective Yo-kai Watches to the two S-rank yo-kai who were fighting the boss yo-kai.

"Huh," Hornaplenty said, his interest piqued, "Well ain't that something!"

"The two of you looked like you were arguing about something during the fight," Kira said in a curious tone, "What was it about?"

"This guy here wanted to drag out the fight for as long as possible while I wanted to end things as quickly as possible," Swelterrier said to Kira while jerking a thumb at Hornaplenty.

"Not all fights have the same strategy to winning, you idiot!" Hornaplenty scolded.

"What strategy were the two of you trying to employ in taking down SV Snaggerjag?" Venoct asked, "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"I was using a sound strategy for taking down someone like SV Snaggerjag, who can summon minions during a fight," Hornaplenty replied.

"I was using a totally legit strategy myself," Swelterrier said, "The best way to take down a guy like SV Snaggerjag is to…"

"Focus on taking out the minions first," Hornaplenty said.

"Focus on beating down on the boss," Swelterrier remarked. Both Swelterrier and Hornaplenty spoke in unison with each other when they stated the strategies they were respectively trying to employ in the fight against SV Snaggerjag. When they realized what the other had said, the two S-rank yo-kai turned to face each other and proceeded to argue.

As the two S-rank yo-kai argued, Kira, Atticus, Venoct and Kyubi had a group huddle. "Seems to me like this is a problem that requires a little human and yo-kai intervention," Kira said to Atticus and the two yo-kai.

"What are you talking about?" Atticus asked, a mildly curious look on his face.

"It's clear that these two pals are at odds over what the best way to take down a boss yo-kai is," Kira explained, "And that if the argument goes on for long enough, it might break the friendship that they have with each other. I suggest that we separate them, get them into different areas here on Mount Wildwood, and talk to them in a calm, peaceful settings so that they can vent without trying to rip each other to shreds, so to speak."

"I don't think that Swelterrier and Hornaplenty are actually friends, so much as they are strangers who happen to be working towards a common goal," Venoct remarked, "But I see what you're trying to get at here, Kira."

"So, what should we do?" Atticus asked.

"You know that large abandoned house here on Mount Wildwood?" Kira said to Atticus. After the thirteen-year-old boy nodded in the affirmative, Kira continued, "Good. You and Kyubi take Hornaplenty in that general direction and try getting him to calm down. Meanwhile, Venoct and I will talk to Swelterrier near the shrine where the old man sells talismans."

"Sounds like a plan, I suppose," Atticus replied with a nod. The group broke out of their huddle and walked towards the two arguing S-rank yo-kai.

"Alright, boys!" Kira called out as she clapped, getting Swelterrier and Hornaplenty to stop arguing and turn to face her. "It's obvious that the two of you need to chill out before you try and go after SV Snaggerjag again, so here's what's going to happen," Kira began, "Atticus and Kyubi will listen to what Hornaplenty has to say, while Venoct and I will listen to Swelterrier's side of the story in a different area here on the mountain. After, say, half an hour, we'll meet back up again and see if we can work in unison to take down SV Snaggerjag. Sound good?"

"I suppose that a brief reprieve will give us time to calm down," Hornaplenty remarked as he nodded in agreement.

"Okay, chief!" Swelterrier said cheerfully with a cute, closed-eye smile.

" _He is so adorable_ ," Kira thought as she regarded the fire dog yo-kai.

* * *

Over near the abandoned house on Mount Wildwood, Atticus and Kyubi were having an impromptu picnic with Hornaplenty. Atticus was just having some soda while Kyubi was drinking some tea, and Hornaplenty was eating some vegetables. "So Hornaplenty," Atticus began, "Let's cut to the chase about the differing ideas that you and Swelterrier have when it comes to taking down a powerful enemy such as SV Snaggerjag."

"Tell me," Hornaplenty replied, "If you're facing a single strong enemy who can bring in minions during the fight, or showed up with minions, what would you do?"

"If it's really early into the fight, I'd focus on taking the minions out as quickly as possible, if I'm to be honest," Atticus remarked.

"I agree," Kyubi said, "If a single powerful enemy is flanked by followers, then focusing on the single powerful enemy while ignoring the grunts and letting them do as they please will not work out in the long run."

"That's what I've been trying to say to that idiot Swelterrier!" Hornaplenty nearly exclaimed, "If there are any minions, focusing on them as soon as they pop up until they go down will make things easier when it comes to taking down the ringleader!"

"That's a very wise idea to keep in mind," Atticus said, "Up to a certain point, that is."

With a mildly confused look on his face, Hornaplenty replied, "What do you mean?"

"It's true that taking out a boss enemy's lackeys, or otherwise weakening the boss, will make it easier to take down in the end," Atticus explained, "But focusing on such tactics when the fight is close to finished anyway is rather pointless."

"From what I can tell, if you see a single powerful enemy bring in a minion, you always shift gears to beating down on the minion until it's defeated," Kyubi said, "Although that's good early to mid-fight, when you get to the tail end of a fight, quickly blitzing the single powerful enemy is the best way to go. At least that's my opinion."

"Hmm," Hornaplenty said as he considered Kyubi's words, "I guess that I never really thought of trying to mix things up as the fight goes along."

"Mixing things up against a single powerful enemy is very much often a good idea," Atticus went on, "It presents you with more options and makes it difficult for the opposition to predict what you're going to do."

"Maybe Swelterrier and I should talk about how we can mix our ideas together so that we can take down SV Snaggerjag," Hornaplenty remarked. When he saw both Atticus and Kyubi nod in agreement, Hornaplenty let out a hearty good-natured laugh. "You're an alright person, Atticus," Hornaplenty said, "I can see why Kyubi saw fit to befriend you."

"Thanks for the complement," Atticus replied with a mildly amused smirk.

* * *

Over near the shrine where the elderly man sells talismans, Kira and Venoct were sitting on the ground with Swelterrier. Kira watched as Swelterrier gulped down an Amazing Milk that she handed to him to drink. After the fire dog yo-kai chugged down the last bit of milk, Venoct said, "So Swelterrier, concerning your ideal strategy for taking down boss yo-kai…"

"Hit them hard and fast, and keep doing so until they go down," Swelterrier replied as he interrupted Venoct, "Why waste time doing other things when the goal of beating a boss is to, well, beat the boss?"

"That all well and good, don't get me wrong," Kira replied, getting Swelterrier to turn and face her, "But that will only work right away against certain foes and in certain situations."

Swelterrier wore an expression of confusion as he tilted his head to the side slightly. "What are you talking about?" Swelterrier asked.

"Some battles require more tact, as well as strategy that's more complex than simply hitting a foe hard and fast," Kira explained, "Some fights require you to break through a covered point before serious damage can be dealt, some fights require that you hit a less vulnerable hit point before a more vulnerable hit point is exposed, and some fights require that you weaken the enemy so that he doesn't blitz you or your allies in one or two hits."

"As for powerful enemies who either show up flanked by minions or can summon them over the course of the battle," Venoct added, "It's best to focus on taking the minions out before they become a nuisance. If left alone, they can do most anything you can think of, like helping the ringleader fight, or supporting the ringleader with buff-type inspirits, or even heal any damage that you inflicted on the boss."

"However, if the fight's just about over anyway, going for broke and blitzing the boss is as sound of a strategy as I can think of," Kira said.

"You guys sound like you know what you're talking about," Swelterrier remarked in a mildly amazed tone.

"We speak from experience," Kira replied with a nod.

"So, if Hornaplenty and I get another go at fighting SV Snaggerjag," Swelterrier began, "If a minion appears, I should focus on taking it out before going back to SV Snaggerjag?"

"If it's early to mid-fight, yes," Kira said with another nod, "But like I said, a late-fight blitz is a nice way to wrap things up."

"Hmm, I see," Swelterrier replied as he stood up, "I guess that I should talk things over with Hornaplenty, see what he has to say."

"Great!" Kira said in a cheery tone, "Glad to see that Venoct and I managed to get you to see things from a different point of view!"

"Is there anything else that you feel we should go over before you meet up with Hornaplenty to go over what to do the next time you two fight SV Snaggerjag?" Venoct asked.

"Yeah, there was something I was wondering," Swelterrier replied. Turning to face Kira, the fire dog yo-kai asked, "Can I have another one of those milks, please? They're really good!"

" _So adorable_ ," Kira thought about Swelterrier as she reached into her bag to pull out another Amazing Milk.

* * *

Later, Atticus, Kyubi and Hornaplenty met up with Kira, Venoct and Swelterrier. "Hey Hornaplenty, there's something I wanna go over with you," Swelterrier said to the purple-armored yo-kai.

"I myself have something to say, but I'll hear you out first," Hornaplenty replied.

Nodding in understanding, Swelterrier said, "I think that your idea on focusing on minions in a fight against SV Snaggerjag is actually a good idea, but we should switch to my idea of focusing on the boss yo-kai himself when he's close to being finished."

"I was going to say something similar myself, actually," Hornaplenty remarked, "I think that a mix of your strategy and mine would be a good way to take out SV Snaggerjag.

"So, it's agreed," Swelterrier replied, "We'll mix your idea with mine to make a third idea that we'll use in fighting SV Snaggerjag."

"Agreed," Hornaplenty said with a mildly amused smirk.

Turning to face Kira, Atticus, Venoct and Kyubi, Swelterrier said, "And you guys will be helping as well!"

"I…beg your pardon?" Venoct said, caught off guard by the fire dog yo-kai's sudden declaration.

"I mean, why the heck not?" Swelterrier began to explain, "You guys are pretty cool, after all." Pointing to Venoct and Kyubi, Swelterrier continued, "And Hornaplenty did say that the two of you are pretty tough. I saw that myself when the two of you drove SV Snaggerjag off. With you guys helping out, we're sure to beat that jerk!"

"I was under the impression that you and Hornaplenty would be wanting to take SV Snaggerjag on alone," Atticus replied, his tone similar to Venoct's.

"We might be needing more than just the two of us to take on SV Snaggerjag," Swelterrier said, "I mean, remembering the last time Hornaplenty and I tried to take on that guy, I can tell he's tough. Even if we do agree to mix things up, I'm not quite certain we can take him down."

"That's a reasonable idea," Kyubi remarked with a nod, "What do the rest of you think?"

"It's be a pleasure to fight alongside yo-kai such as you and Venoct," Hornaplenty replied, "I'd be glad to have the two of you along."

"I get the feeling that We won't be able to do what we came here to do anyway until the issue with SV Snaggerjag is dealt with," Venoct said, "That being said, I think teaming up here would work out for all parties involved."

"I'm game," Atticus said simply, casually raising a hand.

"Count me in too," Kira said as she pounded a fist into a hand. Turning to face Venoct, Kira continued, "It has been a while since we messed with a yo-kai such as SV Snaggerjag, hasn't it, Venoct?"

"Indeed," Venoct replied with a nod, "I don't think that we've been in a fight against an enemy of SV Snaggerjag's level in quite some time. The last fight that I recall my brothers and I being in was against that trio of Hungorges, and that issue with Dracunyan was Dragon Lord's affair."

"You encountered Dragon Lord?" Hornaplenty said to Venoct in a notably but not excessively impressed tone, "You sure have some impressive encounters!"

"We actually befriended Dragon Lord," Kira admitted, "But we can discuss that later. Right now, we got a big one to reel in!"

"Ha!" Swelterrier laughed in an amused manner, "A fishing pun!"

* * *

Back over at Catfish Pond, SV Snaggerjag was looking around, as if he were trying to locate something that he lost. As he was searching around, he heard a pair of voices call out from behind him, "Hey, SV Snaggerjag!" Recognizing the two voices, the boss yo-kai turned around and saw the two S-rank yo-kai who were fighting him earlier. It looked like that they had decided to return for a rematch.

"I don't have the time to give the two of you a thrashing," SV Snaggerjag said to Swelterrier and Hornaplenty, "Get lost!"

"If you don't have any interest in giving _two_ yo-kai a good fight," a voice that sounded vaguely familiar to SV Snaggerjag called out, "Then how about _three_ yo-kai?" Suddenly, Kyubi jumped out and landed next to Hornaplenty, putting the purple armored yo-kai between two S-rank fire attribute yo-kai. Pointing to SV Snaggerjag, Kyubi said, "These two looked like they were having fun playing with you earlier. I asked them if it was okay to tag along with them the next time they came by to find you."

Realizing that he didn't have a choice in the matter, SV Snaggerjag turned more of his attention to the trio of S-rank yo-kai. "Alright, looks like I have to fish out some trash before I can bring in the big one," SV Snaggerjag remarked, "Let's do this!"

Right when the fight started, Kyubi threw an elemental fire attack at SV Snaggerjag. This was followed by Swelterrier doing the same thing; although his attack was not as strong as Kyubi's, Swelterrier's fire was still pretty potent. Hornaplenty then rammed into SV Snaggerjag with a powerful physical attack. SV Snaggerjag swung his fishing line around and smacked the curved part of the fishing hook at Hornaplenty, hitting the top of his helmet and doing little more than making a clanging sound.

Kyubi then began charging up his strongest attack, giving Swelterrier time to throw another fire attack at SV Snaggerjag. After Hornaplenty rammed into SV Snaggerjag once again, the boss yo-kai decided to swing his hook at Kyubi, but the attack missed. After that, Kyubi had finished charging his attack; leaping up, he threw a great blaze of fire at SV Snaggerjag, just like the one that he threw in the previous encounter to keep the boss yo-kai from beating down on Swelterrier and Hornaplenty.

Annoyed that he had taken such a powerful blow, SV Snaggerjag decided to focus his attention on Kyubi. However, SV Snaggerjag was surprised when Kyubi said, "Alright everyone, to the right!" Suddenly, the three yo-kai move to the right a bit; this took Kyubi out of the fight while bringing in Venoct, who SV Snaggerjag recognized as the other yo-kai who butted in earlier.

Venoct lunged forward as the heads of his dragon scarf mauled down on SV Snaggerjag. After Venoct had backed off, Swelterrier immediately threw another elemental fire attack at the boss yo-kai, which was followed by Hornaplenty ramming SV Snaggerjag a third time. After he recovered, SV Snaggerjag threw his fishing line into the water, and hoisted out one of the catfish minions that he was capable of bringing in. If his previous encounter with the two S-rank yo-kai who challenged him earlier told him anything, they would divide their attention between himself and the minion that he just summoned.

However, SV Snaggerjag watched in surprise as Venoct, Swelterrier and Hornaplenty all started attacking the minion that he just reeled in. Within three attacks, the catfish minion had been sent back to the water as quickly as he was pulled from it. Annoyed that this fight wasn't panning out like the last one, SV Snaggerjag swung his hook at Swelterrier, smacking the top of the fire dog yo-kai's right shoulder with the curved part of the hook. Swelterrier took more damage from that type of attack than Hornaplenty, but even so it was not enough to beat him down. Also, the fire dog yo-kai did not have the benefit of wearing armor.

After another series of attacks from the three S-rank yo-kai, SV Snaggerjag reeled in another catfish minion. Hornaplenty and Swelterrier both switched to attacking the minion while Venoct began charging up his strongest attack. After a hit from Hornaplenty and two from Swelterrier took the catfish minion out, SV Snaggerjag swung his fishing line at Venoct but missed hitting him. After the boss yo-kai's attack missed, Venoct's attack was finished charging, and what followed was the dragon heads of Venoct's scarf striking at SV Snaggerjag repeatedly.

As SV Snaggerjag reeled from being hit by Venoct's soultimate, Venoct said, "He looks to be about finished! Let's wrap this up!" Venoct, Swelterrier and Hornaplenty all attacked SV Snaggerjag, and after they were done, SV Snaggerjag reeled in another catfish minion, hoping that it would distract his opponents and give him time to come up with something. But that hope was dashed when the three S-rank yo-kai moved to the left, removing Venoct from the battle but bringing Kyubi back in. The instant he was back in the fight, Kyubi threw a strong elemental fire attack at SV Snaggerjag; with all of the damage he had taken, SV Snaggerjag was defeated when he was hit by Kyubi's fire. When SV Snaggerjag was defeated, the summoned catfish minion was so shocked that it simply fainted and poofed away.

"We…we actually did it!" Swelterrier cheered as he hopped up and down in victory. As the four S-rank yo-kai celebrated beating SV Snaggerjag, Kira and Atticus came walking up. Kira's left hand was on her hip while her right fist was pumped into the air. As for Atticus, he was clapping in a calm yet congratulatory manner.

"You guys did well," Atticus remarked, "That was an awesome battle."

"He's right," Kira said to the yo-kai, "The lot of you were all amazing!"

"I'm not finished!" SV Snaggerjag called out from where he laid on his side in the lake. This prompted the four yo-kai and two humans to turn to regard him. The six of them watched as SV Snaggerjag struggled to prop himself back up.

"So, you want a challenge, do you?" Kira said as she pounded a fist into her hand, "Well I'm sure that the boys will agree with me when I say that we'd be glad to oblige you!"

"Annoying human," SV Snaggerjag spat as he got back up, his fishing hook still in the water. Hoisting himself up as forcefully and quickly as possible, SV Snaggerjag said, "I shall send the lot of you to Davey-" SV Snaggerjag was cut off when something landed on his head; when he forced himself up quickly just a few seconds ago, his fishing hook had caught on something and hoisted it out of the water.

After feeling that something roughly the size of a loaf of bread but made of wood landing on his head, SV Snaggerjag yelped in pain a bit, right before grabbing what had landed on his head. When he saw that he had fished out a carved wooden totem of some kind, the boss yo-kai's eyes widened in surprise. Turing to look at the four yo-kai and two humans, SV Snaggerjag said, "It looks like I'll have to reschedule the thrashing that I owe the lot of you. The lot of you all should be counting yourselves lucky that I'm showing such leniency!"

After SV Snaggerjag finished talking down at the four yo-kai and two humans, he poofed away in a swirling cloud of purple smoke. After the boss yo-kai fled, the yo-kai and humans all turned to face each other.

"What was with that thing he pulled out of the lake?" Kira asked.

"Something that I intend to be looking into, that's for sure," Atticus replied affirmatively, "I get the feeling that whatever SV Snaggerjag fled with was the reason he was causing the commotion here at Catfish Pond in the first place." Gently shaking his head before continuing, Atticus said, "This does not bode well. We're going to have to be on the lookout for anything suspicious."

"Sounds like you all are going to be needing a hand then," Hornaplenty said, getting Kira, Atticus, Venoct and Kyubi to turn and face him and Swelterrier. Specifically facing Atticus and Kyubi, Hornaplenty said to Atticus, "You seem to really speak my language when it comes to battle, and the fact that a yo-kai like Kyubi trusts you means you clearly know what you're talking about. I'd like to join up with you, if'n you're willing to have me, that is."

With a very amused smile, Atticus replied, "I certainly have no objections to that."

"Hey human girl," Swelterrier said, getting the attention of Kira and Venoct, "No offence to him, but Hornaplenty isn't all that fun of a guy. You guys seem like fun, though, so how about letting me tag along with you guys?"

"All of the yes," Kira said instantly.

* * *

After their day at Mount Wildwood, Kira, Atticus, Venoct and Kyubi all returned to Uptown Springdale. Both Kira and Atticus were looking at something in their respective right hands; Kira held the yo-kai medal that she got from Swelterrier, whereas Atticus held the yo-kai medal that he got from Hornaplenty.

"Well that was certainly a fun day," Kira remarked to the boys as they all walked past Springdale Elementary, "We stopped a boss yo-kai, we both made some friends, and we got the catfish that we came to catch! I say that this calls for a celebration!" Turning to face Atticus and Kyubi, Kira continued, "What say Venoct and I go grab Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, the two of you go grab Frostail and Darkyubi, and the lot of us will all go find that traveling oden cart and have a meal out together?"

"Although a meal of oden sounds appealing to me, I cannot help but worry about that item that SV Snaggerjag fled with," Kyubi remarked.

"He's got a point," Atticus said to Kira, "We've got to look into this some more."

"It's getting a bit late, and we do still have to turn in those catfish that we were hired to catch," Kira pointed out, "Why don't we put off investigating SV Snaggerjag's plan until tomorrow?"

"Kira's got a point, you two," Venoct said, "It's always good to take a breather once in a while."

After Atticus and Kyubi exchanged looks for a second, they turned their attention back to Kira and Venoct. "I guess you're right," Atticus remarked, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, after all."

"Who's Jack?" Kira asked, a mildly confused look on her face.

"There isn't an actual person named Jack, Kira," Atticus said in a mildly frustrated tone, "I was using a figure of speech to convey that…Oh, forget it. Let's just turn in the catfish, get Venoct and Kyubi's brothers, then head out for oden." The two humans and two yo-kai continued on their way, with Kira laughing a bit in good humor.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER FIVE

Author's notes:

This is where I'll take a break and let people go over what I've come up with for this Yo-kai Watch story so far. If there are enough people showing an interest in this story, I'll continue it. I do have a few ideas for more chapters, though, and I'll be filling in a few things that popped up in the first five chapters if things continue on from here. If I do continue this story, there will be a few ideas I will be implementing, such as…

1\. You know how Nate kind of gets a raw deal in the anime and manga, what with how he's usually a butt monkey? Yeah, that's not going to happen here. Also, you know how Nate and Katie are friends but Nate has feelings for Katie? While they're still both friends here, it's Katie who has feelings for Nate instead (if the chapter involving Dracunyan did not make that clear enough). I think that Nate deserves a break.

2\. Chapters that focus more on trying to tell a story and less on combat. In fact, if this story does continue, I will be implementing this idea in chapter six.

3\. Chapters where at least one of the four main kids (Nate, Katie, Eddie and Bear) will be playing a more primary role.

4\. Some chapters set at the school while it's in session. In my ongoing personal quest to cut Nate some slack, he'll be one of the top students of the school, if not _the_ top student.

In addition to implementing the ideas that are listed above, there are a few things that I will be doing for this story, such as…

1\. Following up on the conflict involving SV Snaggerjag, including mentioning why he was looking for that totem in the first place.

2\. Bringing Inaho into the story.

3\. Bringing the legendary yo-kai into the story as well. They will be divided up among Kira and Atticus, based on what kinds of adventures that they (Kira and Atticus) respectively have in the story.

4\. …And many more.

Yo-kai Watch has been a series that I have found myself to be surprised at becoming fond of. In fact, I did these first five chapters as something of a way to celebrate the upcoming (when these chapters were published) release of Psychic Specters. All I can hope for is that you all enjoy Yo-kai Watch as much as I do. Later.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself. Any resemblance to any other property in this story was done exclusively for parody.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter six: The Yo-kai – an unexpected chain quest

Kira walked down to the first floor of her grandmother's house, where she lived after she moved from Japan to the States, only to be sent back to live in Springdale for a number of reasons. Upon reaching the first floor and heading into the kitchen, Kira saw that her three closest yo-kai friends, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, were already in the kitchen/dining room area.

"Good morning," Kira greeted the Venoct brothers with a slight wave of her hand as she let out a mild yawn.

"What do you mean?" Illuminoct asked with a hint of mild questioning in his tone, "Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not, or that you feel good this morning, or that it is a morning to be good on?"

Giving Illuminoct a mildly grumpy glare, Kira said, "It's too early in the morning for that, Illuminoct. I haven't even had my morning coffee yet."

"Well then, it's a good thing that I took the liberty of turning on the coffee pot for you and your grandmother," Venoct remarked as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder to point out the coffee machine on the counter in the kitchen; the coffee pot was full of freshly-brewed coffee.

"You are a lifesaver, Venoct," Kira said in a tone of thanks as she walked over to the coffee machine so she could get her morning coffee. As Kira did this, her grandmother, Sophia, came walking down from the second floor. Fair-skinned and wearing a pair of circular glasses, Sophia had straight dark-colored hair in a hime-style cut, and she wore a set of sleepwear that consisted of a long-sleeved sleep shirt that was a pale light lavender in color plus pale light pink trim, and matching women's sleep pants. The fact that her face was only barely marred by wrinkles was a sign that, at most, Sophia was in her early sixties.

"Good morning, everyone," Sophia greeted as she walked into the kitchen; although far more common among those of High School age and younger, there are some adult humans in the areas of Springdale, Harrisville and San Fantastico who, due to the Phenomena that took place roughly two years previous, can now see and hear yo-kai as well as they can see other humans. Kira's grandma Sophia is one such adult human.

"Good morning, Grandma Sophia," Kira greeted as she sat at the table with a mug of coffee. Kira takes her coffee with just a little bit of sugar; the thirteen-year-old girl generally does not like to add any sort of creamer.

"Good morning, ma'am," Venoct greeted with a slightly raised hand, a gesture that his brothers copied as they themselves greeted their human friend's grandmother.

With a slight chuckle, Sophia said, "You know everyone, when my husband was killed in that traffic accident in Downtown Springdale a few years ago, I was not only devastated, but I thought that I'd be living the rest of my life by myself. But then Kira's parents were kind enough to send her back here to Japan." Gesturing to the Venoct brothers, Sophia continued, "And then that business concerning yo-kai occurred, allowing for you three boys to come in." To Kira and the Venoct brothers as a whole, Sophia said, "Thank you. I really like having a full house like this to look after."

"Well you are most certainly welcome," Shadow Venoct replied, touched by how much someone appreciates his company.

"Yeah, Grandma Sophia," Kira remarked, "You know that the Venoct brothers and I always have your back."

"Well that is certainly nice to hear, dear," Sophia replied, "Anywho, I bet you guys must be hungry. I'm planning on making waffles for breakfast, so how many do each of you want?"

"I was actually planning on just having this coffee," Kira said, "But thanks."

"Your waffles are pretty good, ma'am," Venoct remarked, "I'd like to have two if that's okay with you."

"Put me down for two waffles as well, please," Shadow Venoct asked.

"Just tea, thank you," Illuminoct said, a hint of mild merriment in his tone.

With an amused giggle, Sophia said, "Well alright, boys. I'll get started right away." Sophia proceeded to walk right over to the cabinet in the kitchen to get out some of the ingredients to make waffles. However, about halfway to the cabinet, there was a knock at the front door.

"I'll get that," Shadow Venoct said as he got up and went over to the front door. Upon opening it, Shadow Venoct was surprised (in a mildly unpleasant way) to see that Sergeant Burly was standing at the front door.

"Ten-four, private!" Sergeant Burly greeted with a salute, "Is Kira in?"

"Nope!" Shadow Venoct replied instantly before closing the door in Sergeant Burly's face. A few seconds later, Kira opened the door somewhat quickly, as if she was hoping to catch the visitor before he left.

"Sorry about that, Sergeant Burly," Kira said in an apologetic tone. With a mildly curious look on her face, Kira continued, "Say, it's kind of weird that you'd visit me. What's up?"

"Some fellow by the name of Arachnus wants to talk to you," Sergeant Burly explained, "You see, when I was hanging out at-" Sergeant Burly was cut off when Venoct came rushing up to where Sergeant Burly was talking with Kira.

"What did you say about Arachnus?" Venoct asked, his tone a mix of demanding and shocked.

"Umm, I was about to say that I was hanging out at a club for yo-kai in the yo-kai world, and I was telling them about the job that I help Kira, you and your brothers with," Sergeant Burly said to Venoct, "When I mentioned you by name, that Arachnus fellow must have overheard me, because he came up and started asking about you."

"Well of course he'd ask about me," Venoct replied, "He was my leader up until the Phenomena roughly two years ago. As it still stands, he's a good friend of mine."

"He said that he also considered you a good friend, Private," Sergeant Burly said, "But that's beside the point. Arachnus asked me how I knew you guys, so I told him how I helped you guys out, along with the fact that I gave my yo-kai medal to Kira. Upon hearing that I was friends with Kira, he handed me this and asked me to deliver it."

Sergeant Burly pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Kira. Unfolding it, Kira read what was written on the note;

 _To the human known as Kira_ ,

 _I have been made aware of the fact that my right_ - _hand man Venoct_ , _as well as his brothers_ , _gave you their yo_ - _kai medals_. _That being said_ , _meet me at the location enclosed in this letter_ , _and bring Venoct and his brothers along as well_. _There are pressing matters that concern me right now_ , _and I have reason to believe that you_ , _Venoct and his brothers will be of great assistance to me in this regard_.

~ _Arachnus_

After checking the location that was enclosed, Kira said, "Huh. So, something is going on, and this Arachnus guy wants to talk to the Venoct brothers and I about it?"

"I suppose so, Private," Sergeant Burly remarked.

"Kira, I say that we go," Venoct said instantly, the hint of eagerness in his tone indicating that he felt as if the meeting with Arachnus was very important.

"Well alright," Kira remarked, "Let me wake up a bit more and get dressed to go out, then we'll go meet with this Arachnus fellow you seem so keen on meeting with."

…

Later, as Kira and the Venoct brothers were on their way to the meeting with Arachnus, Kira asked, "Hey guys, you all know this Arachnus fellow, right? What's he like?"

"He's a serious and down-to-earth individual," Venoct replied, "But a good and just leader. He's the head of the Bony Spirits army."

"Bony Spirits army?" Kira said in a mildly confused tone, showing that she was going to need to be filled in on a few facts.

"There are two armies of yo-kai who are rivals with each other," Shadow Venoct explained, "The Bony spirits and the Fleshy Souls. Arachnus leads the Bony Spirits, whereas his rival Toadal Dude leads the Fleshy Souls."

"So, I take it that you guys are all on the Bony Spirits side?" Kira asked.

Nodding in the affirmative, Shadow Venoct said, "That's right, Kira. As a side note, Kyubi and his brothers are all on the Fleshy Souls side. In fact, Kyubi served Toadal Dude in the same capacity that Venoct served Arachnus."

"He's right about that, Kira," a familiar male voice called out from behind Kira and the Venoct brothers, making them turn to see Atticus and the Kyubi brothers come walking up. It had been Atticus who called out. After reaching Kira's group, Atticus said, "I assume that you have received summons to the meeting between the Fleshy Souls and the Bony Spirits as well, Kira?" Atticus asked.

"You four got summons as well?" Kira asked. At that prompting, Atticus took out a small folded note and held it up.

"When she was hanging out in the yo-kai world," Atticus said, "Foiletta told some other yo-kai about how the Kyubi brothers and I helped her, and how she gave me her yo-kai medal. When she did this, she said that a yo-kai who identified himself as Toadal Dude overheard her mention Kyubi by name. After Toadal Dude asked her how she knew Kyubi, Foiletta explained her story to him, including how I have her yo-kai medal. After hearing that, Toadal Dude gave her this and asked her to deliver it to me."

After Kira asked to see the note, Atticus handed it over. Unfolding the note, Kira read what Toadal Dude had written;

 _Yo_ , _Atticus dude_ ,

 _I heard that you_ ' _re totally chilling with my good bud Kyubi now, along with his bros_. _That being the case_ , _I_ ' _m going to have to ask that the lot of you all swing by the enclosed location_. _There_ ' _s some stuff going down that_ ' _s totally sick_ , _and not necessarily in the cool sense_. _I'm gonna need Kyubi and his bros to back me up on this_ , _and since you_ ' _re chilling with them now_ , _you should totally come by as well_.

~ _Toadal Dude_

"…He has a far more casual speech pattern that Arachnus," Kira remarked as she handed the note back to Atticus.

"Casual speech pattern or no, Toadal Dude is still the leader of the Fleshy Souls army, so we should afford him our respect," Atticus replied as he took the note he got back and slipped in into a pocket on the back of his pants, "The same should apply to Arachnus as well, due to his status as the leader of the Bony Spirits."

After considering what Atticus said for a few seconds, Kira nodded in agreement with what her male counterpart said. "You got me there, Atticus," Kira said, "So anyway, since it looks like lot of us are all heading to the same place, why don't we-"

"Hey Kira! Atticus!" a young male voice called out, getting the attention of the two humans and six yo-kai. Turning around, everyone saw Nate, Katie, Eddie and Bear come walking up. It had been Nate who had called out.

"What's up, little dudes?" Kira asked.

"We were actually on our way to the arcade," Eddie explained, "We all ran into you guys on the way, so we figured we'd say hi and ask how you're doing."

"We're all on our way to a meeting between the respective leaders of two armies of yo-kai," Kira explained, "I was summoned by one while Atticus was summoned by the other."

"The yo-kai armies have leaders?" Nate said in a mildly confused tone, "There are yo-kai armies?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Kyubi said, "The two armies have been at odds with each other for quite some time, but have recently put any hostilities to rest. From what Foiletta told said upon giving the summons from Toadal Dude to Atticus, the two armies are concerned about the activity of some yo-kai of notoriety, and are trying to gather strength in order to combat what the yo-kai in question may be up to."

"Sounds like a great chance to learn a lot about yo-kai politics," Katie remarked in a tone of piqued interest, "I kind of want to come and see this meeting for myself."

"Arachnus tends to want to keep meetings between only those who are invited," Venoct pointed out, "But he has no problem with educating youth about the history and politics of yo-kai. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind it too terribly if you four kids came to sit in, assuming of course you four keep quiet."

"Toadal Dude is far less uptight than Arachnus, so he'd be far more willing to let you kids sit in on the meeting," Kyubi remarked, "Just try to remember to behave yourselves, okay? This _is_ going to be a meeting between the leaders of the Fleshy Souls and the Bony Spirits, after all."

Nodding in understanding, Katie replied, "Sounds fair."

"Well alright kids, what are we waiting for?" Kira said. Continuing on her way to where she had been asked to go, Kira said as she gestured for everyone else to follow her, "Come on, everyone! We got a meeting to head to!"

* * *

After a bit of time travel thanks to Miradox, the party had arrived in Springdale in the past. "Now all we have to do is make our way in the direction where we'd normally find the entrance to the Infinite Inferno, and bada-bing bada-boom, we'll reach Flatpot Plains," Kira remarked.

"Did we really just time travel?" Bear asked, looking mildly excited.

"Yeah, and about that," Atticus said, "You four are going to have to keep this to yourselves. Also, I'm going to have to ask you all to be _very_ careful with what you all do while you're here in the past."

"Of course," Nate replied in an understanding tone, "I'm familiar with enough fiction concerning time travel to know better than to mess around."

"Well alright, kiddies," Kira remarked to the group, "If'n you four will be so kind as to follow me, Atticus and the yo-kai, we'll head over to where the meeting is going down."

"This is really exciting," Eddie remarked, "We've not only time traveled, but we're going to get to meet very renowned yo-kai!"

* * *

After a fair bit of travel on foot, the entire group had reached Flatpot Plains. "This area is more or less divided up into two sides," Venoct said to the kids, "The one we arrived on is the Fleshy Souls side, but the meeting location is on the Bony Spirits side.

"Well that sounds-" Katie began, but she was cut off when someone called out to the group.

"Hey Kira! Atticus! Over here!" a male voice called out, getting everyone to turn around and face who was walking up. They all saw that it was a pair of boys about the same age as Nate, Katie, Eddie and Bear.

The first boy had slightly tanned skin and brown hair that was styled similar to Nate's for some odd reason. The first boy also wore a white men's tank top, tan shorts, a pair of geta sandals, a blue cape for some other odd reason, and a necklace that had a small pouch on it. The second boy of the group had fairer skin, light brown hair, a beige shirt, blue shorts, and a pair of white shoes. It had been the first boy that had called out.

"I take it Arachnus and Toadal Dude call you guys in as well?" the first boy asked as he gestured to the two older kids.

"Well that's a given, since they're both here," the second boy said to the first, "Although I am curious as to why these other four kids are here as well."

"Oh, umm, well this is kind of weird," Kira said as she rubbed the back of her head in an embarrassed manner, "I wasn't expecting either of you two to be showing up."

"Hey Kira, who are they?" Nate asked in a curious tone as he pointed to the two boys, "Do you and Atticus know them?"

"Yeah, they seem awfully familiar with you guys," Katie remarked.

"Well, we might as well explain a few things," Atticus said, his tone suggesting that he saw what had to happen. Pointing to the first boy, Atticus said, "That's Nathaniel Adams, who is Nate's grandfather." Pointing to the second boy, Atticus continued, "That's Kenny Forester, who is Katie's grandfather." Shrugging indifferently, Atticus said, "There. We got that messy business out of the way."

"You brought me and Kenny's respective grandkids with you from the future?" Nathaniel said in a questioning tone, "Kenny and I both have grandkids in the future?!"

"Like I said, I wasn't expecting you two to be showing up," Kira replied to Nathaniel and Kenny.

Noticing the looks of shock on the respective faces of Nate and Katie, Atticus said, "Are you two going to be alright?"

"This…" Nate said sounding like he was at something at a loss for words, "…This is a lot to take in. I mean, I'm meeting my grandfather back when he was a kid."

With something of a self-amused grin, Nathaniel said as he jerked a thumb at himself, "So what do you think, sonny? You're grandpa's pretty cool, huh?"

"I'd prefer a red cape as opposed to a blue one, but other than that, this is pretty awesome how I'm actually getting to meet you back when you were a kid," Nate replied.

"Ha!" Nathaniel laughed in an amused manner, "We all have our own tastes in color I suppose!"

"Oh, what do you think about me, Katie?" Kenny asked.

"I can certainly see why my mom always said that you and I have similar faces," Katie remarked to her grandfather.

"Ha-ha!" Nathaniel laughed in a mocking manner while he pointed at Kenny, "You have a girl face, Kenny!"

"Oh, shut up," Kenny replied in a mock annoyed tone as he gave Nathaniel a playful shove.

"Well boys, I don't think we should be keeping Toadal Dude and Arachnus waiting," Atticus said, "Why don't we head on over to the meeting already?" Nathaniel and Kenny both nodded in agreement, and they plus everyone else proceeded to follow Kira and Atticus to the meeting.

* * *

After a brisk walk, everyone arrived at the Bony Spirits side of Flatpot Plains. Upon arriving, the humans and yo-kai all saw a fairly large circular table situated near where Arachnus had his base set up. Arachnus, along with a yo-kai who looked exactly like him save for having a different color scheme, was seated on one side of the table, a pair of Firewigs standing at guard behind the two yo-kai. Opposite of Arachnus and his differently colored fellow was Toadal Dude and a yo-kai who looked exactly like Toadal Dude save for a different color scheme. A pair of Frazzels stood at guard behind Toadal Dude and his fellow.

"Ah, it is good to see you once again, Venoct," Arachnus greeted, "Can I assume one of the human girls you brought along is that Kira girl who was mentioned to me?"

"That would be her," Venoct replied as he pointed to Kira.

"Hey Kyubi, which one of the dudes that came here with you is that Atticus dude who I was told is chilling with you?" Toadal Dude asked.

"I'm right here," Atticus said as he raised a hand.

"Seeing as how what we're here to discuss concerns both humans and yo-kai, it's a good thing that you and your fellow humans came along," Arachnus said to Kira and Atticus, "I am also glad that you got Nathaniel and Kenny to come, as they have both done much for yo-kai."

"Wait a minute," Bear said, "This yo-kai business has been going on for this long? I thought it only started up two years ago from the time my friends and I came from!"

A confused look on his face, Kenny asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You and Nathaniel are going to have to be filled in on that after the meeting," Atticus said, "For now, we have to get down to business."

"Kyubi's human friend raises a point," Toadal Dude's similar looking fellow remarked.

"Say, who are you?" Kira asked, "Sorry, but I'm curious."

"This is my cousin Uber Geeko," Toadal Dude explained as he gestured to his fellow. Gesturing to Arachnus's fellow, Toadal Dude said, "And that is Arachnia, who is Arachnus's cousin."

"We can break the ice up some more later," Arachnus remarked, "For now, we need to get the meeting underway." Gesturing to Venoct, Arachnus said, "Come, Venoct. You and your brothers should sit with Arachnia and I."

"You three should come sit with me and Uber Geeko," Toadal Dude said as he gestured to Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi.

"Sounds like a plan," Kyubi remarked as he and his brothers went over to join Toadal Dude and Uber Geeko at the meeting table.

"Come on, you guys," Venoct said as he gestured for Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct to follow him over to where Arachnus and Arachnia sat at the meeting table.

* * *

Eventually, after a few formalities were taken care of, the meeting between the Fleshy Souls and the Bony Spirits was well under way. "Now then," Arachnia said, "I suppose everyone here is interested in hearing why my cousin, not to mention his associate Toadal Dude, called for this here meeting."

"This isn't a disciplinary hearing because Illuminoct messed something up again, is it?" Venoct asked as he raised a hand.

"I sincerely wish that were the case, my friend," Arachnus remarked in a mildly resigned tone, "It would be loads less troublesome."

"What happened, might I ask?" Frostail said as he raised a hand.

"Tell me, humans," Arachnus said as he turned to face the humans but specifically regarding Kira, Atticus, Nathaniel and Kenny, "Are any of you familiar with SV Snaggerjag?"

"Dude!" Kira exclaimed suddenly, getting the attention of Arachnus, Arachnia, Toadal Dude and Uber Geeko, "Atticus, Venoct and Kyubi just dealt with that jerk a few days back in the time we came from!"

"Seriously?" Toadal Dude said in a tone of piqued interest as he arched one of his eyebrows.

Nodding in the affirmative, Atticus said, "Two S-rank yo-kai were trying to drive SV Snaggerjag out of Catfish Pond up on Mount Wildwood. Kira, Kyubi, Venoct and I helped the two S-rank yo-kai drive SV Snaggerjag away. In fact, I got the yo-kai medal from one while Kira goth the yo-kai medal from the other."

"Yeah," Kira said as she nodded once, "I befriended Swelterrier, and Atticus befriended Hornaplenty."

"Before he left," Atticus continued, "SV Snaggerjag managed to recover some sort of totem carved from wood out of Catfish Pond. I've been meaning to look into the matter some more." To the two yo-kai generals, Atticus said, "Does this have to do with the meeting here?"

"Indeed, it does," Arachnus replied, "That totem is said to give one influence over the yo-kai who inhabit the various realms of the yo-kai world. That means Hungry Pass, Liar Mountain and Hooligan Road. Each of those three realms have large populations of yo-kai on their own. But if the yo-kai of all three of those realms are united under a single banner…"

"Some seriously bad crud will go down, dudes," Toadal Dude said, finishing Arachnus's sentence for him.

Gesturing to Toadal Dude, Arachnus said, "What he said."

"Is that why SV Snaggerjag was looking for that totem?" Kira said in a mildly confused tone, "He was control over the yo-kai who live in the three realms of the yo-kai world?" With a shrug, Kira said, "I was sort of under the impression that SV Snaggerjag was looking for that totem because he wanted to give it to someone."

"That is a possibility," Arachnia said, a look of deep consideration on his face as he sat at his cousin's side.

"I have to agree with that," Illuminoct said to the other yo-kai at the meeting, "SV Snaggerjag owes allegiance to no one. But if he should side with the enemy, a boss yo-kai could be used to terrible effect. This could spell trouble for the humans, not to mention the yo-kai, Bonies and Fleshies alike."

"Dude, what enemy are you talking about?" Toadal Dude asked.

"Illuminoct," Arachnus began in a mildly annoyed tone, "I highly doubt that this could break things up between the Bonies and Fleshies. For four months, the Bonies and Fleshies have been at peace."

"Are we?" Illuminoct said, "Are we at peace? Boys have come down from the mountains. They are raiding villages, destroying farms."

"That's hardly a prelude to war," Arachnus replied with a dismissive wave of his right hand.

Over where the humans were watching the meeting, Bear leaned to his side so that he could whisper to Nate and Eddie. "Hey guys, did we come down from the mountains?" Bear asked.

"No, Bear," Nate replied in a tone that sounded mildly strained due to annoyance, "Illuminoct is just being weird again."

* * *

Later after the meeting between the Bonies and Fleshies resolved, Kira and Atticus talked with the heads of the two yo-kai armies. "The matter concerning SV Snaggerjag and that totem is of pressing concern," Arachnus began, "Kira and Atticus, can the Bonies and Fleshies count on you two to stand by our side? To help us in our efforts to stop whatever insane plan SV Snaggerjag has cooked up?"

"You can count on us, Arachnus," Kira replied, "Well, I can technically only speak for myself, but I'm certain that Atticus would be willing to pitch in as well."

"Of course," Atticus said as he crossed his arms.

Smiling, Arachnus said, "It's comforting to know that, in the upcoming times, that humans and yo-kai will be working side by side." Walking up to Kira, Arachnus said, "Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct have all seen fit to bestow their respective yo-kai medals to you. Seeing that they all obviously have faith in you, I figure that I should have faith in you as well. This is for you." Arachnus then held his hand out, to which Kira held her hand out as well. Arachnus then dropped his yo-kai medal into Kira's hand.

"Thanks," Kira said.

"If my cousin trusts you, then I'll trust you as well," Arachnia added as he walked up to Kira and handed her his yo-kai medal himself. As the two important Bony Spirits yo-kai gifted their yo-kai medals to Kira, Toadal Dude and Uber Geeko did the same with Atticus, with Toadal Dude saying that anyone who's a friend of the Kyubi brothers is a friend of his.

"I hope that you'll be around when we make our move against SV Snaggerjag," Arachnus said to the two thirteen-year-old humans, "We're going to need all the allies we can get our hands on."

"Well luckily for the Bonies, I got more yo-kai friends to pitch in," Kira remarked.

"The Fleshies can count on my support," Atticus said.

"Well that's great to hear, man," Toadal Dude said with something of a laugh, "It looks like things are going to Hey what a minute, where did Nathaniel, Kenny and those four other kids wander off to?"

"Nathaniel and Kenny took Nate, Katie, Eddie and Bear to check something out in the Harrisville of this time," Venoct explained "They'll have to take the train, though."

"Are you serious?" Atticus asked, a mildly annoyed look on his face.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Venoct said, "They're taking the humans to Harrisville."

Leaning to his side, Illuminoct whispered to Shadow Venoct, "That line sounds like it can be mixed into a catchy song."

"Illuminoct, shut up," Shadow Venoct whispered back in a mildly annoyed tone.

…

After Kira, Atticus and their respective trios of primary yo-kai friends all arrived in the Harrisville of this time. When they got there, they saw that the six kids were all over at the school. Apparently, Nathaniel, Kenny, Nate, Katie, Bear and Eddie were facing off against six other kids in soccer.

"Heh," Kira laughed, "Well ain't that cute. Nate and Katie are playing with their respective grandpas. They even got Bear and Eddie playing along."

"This makes it all the more tragic that Kenny didn't get to live to see Katie being born," Atticus remarked, his tone mildly somber.

"Oh yeah," Kira said, her tone matching the one Atticus was currently using, "The same applies to Nathaniel not living to see Nate being born." Turning to face Atticus, Kira asked, "Do you know how Kenny died?"

"He had a fatal asthma attack," Atticus replied in as matter-of-factly of a tone as he could manage at the moment, "Which, oddly enough, is the same way Foiletta died back before she became a yo-kai. I had been told that Kenny had something of a habit of forgetting to carry an inhaler on hand at all times." Turing to face Kira, Atticus asked, "I don't suppose you know how Nate's grandpa died, do you?"

Nodding once in the affirmative, Kira said, "Nate's grandpa was hit by a car that he didn't see coming. But then again, I was told that Nate's grandpa had a tendency to forget to look both ways before crossing the street."

"Hey Kira, Kyubi brothers, Venoct brothers," Atticus said, getting everyone to turn their attention over to where the kids were all playing soccer. Gesturing to the scene, Atticus said, "You think we should let them have a bit more time?"

A knowing smile on her lips, Kira said, "Yeah, Atticus. I think that sounds nice." As with Kira, the six yo-kai all agreed to give Nathaniel and Kenny time to play with their respective grandkids and the two extra kids that said grandkids brought with them. Right during sunset, Kenny scored the winning goal. When their team had won the game, Nate, Katie, Eddie, Bear, Nathaniel and Kenny all jumped up and down as they cheered.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER SIX

Author's notes:

I'm kind of hesitant about putting this chapter out (even with the disclaimer at the top), mostly because it parodies bits from a popular movie series. But still, I would like to think that this was a good chapter; this is also the first chapter that I intentionally wrote without any combat scenes, as I wanted to focus more on storytelling, as well as (hopefully) provide a few laughs. I hope that I accomplished that with this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself. Any resemblance to any other property in this story was done exclusively for parody.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter seven: The Yo-kai of the watch– The return of the yo-kai

SV Snaggerjag could not believe what was happening. He was on his way to do what he had planned with the totem that he managed to recover from Catfish Pond, but before he could even get close to where he wanted to go, he was confronted by one of those two humans who was friends with yo-kai. Not only that, but out of the yo-kai friends that came with the human, one of them was one of the two S-rank yo-kai who tried to drive SV Snaggerjag out of Catfish Pond in the first place.

To make matters worse for him, SV Snaggerjag was about to be defeated. "We almost got him beaten, boys," Atticus said as his yo-kai friends Kyubi, Hornaplenty and Toadal Dude got the boss yo-kai on his last legs, "Let's blitz him!"

Hornaplenty and Toadal Dude continued to strike SV Snaggerjag while Kyubi began charging up his strongest attack. At this point, there was nothing SV Snaggerjag could do; he couldn't flee, and he obviously couldn't win. To make matters worse, after the human and his yo-kai friends defeat SV Snaggerjag, they were going to find the totem on his person. The boss yo-kai's plans had just gone poof, right before his eyes.

SV Snaggerjag silently cursed himself for his follies. Why did he insist on carrying the totem on his person at all times, rather than find somewhere safe to hide it until he was ready to carry his plans out? Also, how did this human manage to track him down? As he was struck by the nine-tail fox yo-kai's strongest attack, being defeated in the process, SV Snaggerjag lamented that he was beaten before his plans could come to fruition.

The boss yo-kai poofed away in a swirling cloud of purple smoke after his defeat, and as he poofed away, the totem that he went through such lengths to get fell off of his person. It was Toadal Dude who retrieved the totem and brought it over to Atticus, Kyubi and Hornaplenty. "We totally got the totem, dudes," Toadal Dude said, showing the totem to his friends.

Tossing the totem to Atticus, Toadal Dude said, "That SV Snaggerjag dude was pretty stoked to get his hands on this thing. I'm also getting some pretty sick vibes from it, and not sick in the cool way." Putting his hands on his hips, Toadal Dude said, "We ought to get everyone together so we can talk about what the heck we're going to do with it."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Atticus said as he put the totem in his bag, "The sooner we figure out a plan of action on how to deal with this totem, the better."

"And to think," Hornaplenty began, "I thought that simply defeating SV Snaggerjag would put an end to this whole mess. But there's some follow up it seems, and I intend to be there when we put this whole mess to rest for good!"

"It's getting late, though," Kyubi pointed out, "We ought to be turning in for the night. We can get everyone together to discuss the matter of this totem tomorrow."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind hitting the hay right about now," Toadal Dude remarked as he stretched his arms into the air.

With a mildly amused smile, Atticus said, "Well then, why don't we get going?" With his yo-kai friends behind him, Atticus proceeded to make his way back home.

* * *

Sometime the following morning, Kira, with her yo-kai friend Venoct, were standing in front of Arachnus and Swelterrier up in Kira's bedroom at the house where Kira lived with her Grandma Sophia up in Uptown Springdale. "So, boys," Kira began, "Now that you guys are rolling with me, there are a few things that we need to discuss."

"Like food?" Swelterrier asked, "Because I like food."

"I'm going to guess that we can get breakfast later," Arachnus remarked to the fire dog yo-kai, "For now, we should hear what Kira has to say."

Nodding in agreement, Kira said, "Yeah, Arachnus has a point. The first thing that we have to-"

"Hey Kira," Sophia called from the other side of Kira's bedroom door as she knocked, "There's someone here to see you in the living room. I think it's that Atticus boy. He's got this nine-tailed fox yo-kai with him."

A few seconds after Sophia alerted Kira to the fact that there was a visitor, Kira regarded her yo-kai friends. With a mildly confused look on her face, Kira said, "I don't suppose any of you boys have any idea why Atticus would come to see us, do you?"

"Since it's _Atticus_ coming to see _you_ , then something important must have come up," Venoct remarked. With a look of consideration on his face, Venoct continued, "I say we ought to hear what Atticus has to tell us."

Nodding in agreement, Kira left her bedroom and went downstairs to the ground floor of the house, her yo-kai friends following her. Reaching the living room, Kira saw Atticus and Kyubi standing in approximately the center of the living room. "I hope that this isn't too inconvenient of a time," Atticus greeted in a tone that sounded one-part apologetic and nine parts business-like, "But something came up that I figured you'd want to know about."

"Yeah, the boys here and I figured that it must be something important, seeing as how you hardly ever go through the trouble of coming by my place," Kira replied. Putting her hands on her hips, Kira asked, "So what is it?"

"This," Atticus said as he took his bag off from over his back and set it on the floor. Kneeling down, Atticus opened his bag and fished around in it for a few seconds. "Ah, here we go," Atticus muttered to himself as he apparently found what he was looking for. To the shock of Kira and her yo-kai friends, Atticus removed a carved wooden totem approximately the same size as most loaves of bread.

"It's the totem that SV Snaggerjag was after that one time!" Swelterrier nearly exclaimed as he pointed at the treasure that the boss yo-kai was seeking.

"Atticus, Toadal Dude, Hornaplenty and I managed to track down SV Snaggerjag, defeat him, and recover the totem yesterday evening," Kyubi said to Kira and her yo-kai friends, "We figure that everyone should gather so we can discuss the best way to deal with this blasted thing."

Looking from the totem to Atticus, then back to the totem, then back to Atticus again, Kira said, "You figure another meeting over at Flatpot Plains is in order?"

"Any setting with enough space for everyone should be sufficient," Atticus replied, "Although the set-up that the Bony Spirits had for the last meeting had a good atmosphere. Personally, I think that deciding whether or not to have the meeting somewhere on Flatpot Plains ultimately rests with Toadal Dude and Arachnus."

"I have no objection to the idea," Arachnus remarked, "And I'm certain that Toadal Dude would agree. However, he may insist on hosting this next meeting on his side of Flatpot Plains, seeing as how the last meeting was hosted on my side."

"It's doesn't really matter, if you think about it," Venoct commented, "But yeah, once we settle on where to discuss the matter of the totem that Atticus and his fellows managed to recover, we can get down to business."

Nodding once in agreement, Kira said, "Then it's settled. Once we decide on a place, we're going to get everyone together."

* * *

As it turned out, the meeting to discuss the matter of the totem ended up taking place on Arachnus's side of Flatpot Plains, and in the exact same spot to boot; Toadal Dude didn't really care all that much whether the meeting took place on his side or not. As such, all of the yo-kai who were present for the previous meeting, along with Nathaniel Adams and Kenny Forester, was at this meeting as well. In addition, some yo-kai that Kira and Atticus have respectively befriended in very recent events came as well.

"You befriended Azure Dragon?!" Venoct nearly exclaimed with a wide-eyed expression of shock on his face when he and his brothers saw Atticus summon the blue S-rank dragon yo-kai to the meeting.

"Well Kira managed to befriend Dragon Lord," Atticus replied as he jerked a thumb over where Dragon Lord and Swelterrier were arguing over a snack that they both wanted.

"Hey Kira, Atticus," Nathaniel began as he and Kenny regarded the two thirteen-year-olds, "Why didn't you bring the kids with you?"

"You mean your respective grandkids and their friends?" Kira asked, "Well Nate's sick so he has to stay home, Katie's helping her mom with some shopping, Eddie is trying to break some record on a game at the arcade, and I believe Bear is grounded." With an indifferent shrug, Kira said, "I'm not sure what Bear was grounded for, assuming that he _is_ grounded. I wasn't really paying all that much attention when I was listening to why Bear couldn't make it."

"Ah, well that's a darn shame," Nathaniel remarked, "Can you at least tell Nate that I said hi, and that I hope he gets better?"

"Can you give Katie my regards as well if you can manage it?" Kenny asked.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Atticus replied.

"Everyone, everyone," Arachnus called out, getting everyone's attention, "We're about to begin the meeting. Come gather around." Understanding the cue, everyone who came to the meeting went over to where Arachnus was trying to summon them to.

…

Kira, Atticus, their respective yo-kai friends at the meeting, Nathaniel and Kenny all sat around in a fairly large circle that had a stone pillar in the center. It was light grey, about three feet tall by one foot thick, and it had a diameter of about two to two-and-a-half feet. "Now then," Arachnus began in a knowing tone, "I believe that Atticus and his allies have something that they wish to bring to our attention, do they not?"

"Yo," Toadal Dude replied as he got up, walked over to the pillar, and sat something on top of it. A number of the gathered yo-kai all gasped in shock as Toadal Dude made his way back over to where he sat between Uber Geeko and Atticus.

"It's the totem that SV Snaggerjag was after!" Arachnia exclaimed. Turing to face Toadal Dude, Arachnia said with a serious expression on his face, "How did you come by this?"

"We managed to track down SV Snaggerjag and kick his butt," Toadal Dude explained, "He dropped this before he poofed away."

"This is the item…" Arachnia began, "…That would give one control and influence over all of the yo-kai living in Hungry Pass, Liar Mountain and Hooligan Road, the three realms of the yo-kai world." Closing his eyes, Arachnia sighed in a resigned tone before continuing, "Such an item is without a doubt dangerous, not to mention evil."

"My cousin raises an excellent point," Arachnus said to the other yo-kai and the humans, "With the points he raised in consideration, there is only one logical course of action for us to take. We must destroy the totem." Everyone at the meeting, humans and yo-kai alike, exchanged looks with each other, looks of grim understanding, knowing that what Arachnus said had to be done.

"Well then," Swelterrier said as he stood up. Gripping the handle of an axe that was left lying next to his seat, Swelterrier said, "What are we waiting for?" Raising the axe into the air, Swelterrier charged at the totem and, when he was close enough, swung the axe down on the totem. However, not only this this fail to so much as scratch the totem, but the blow-back sent Swelterrier flying back.

"Swelterrier!" Kira said in a worried and mildly alarmed tone as she watched who was in her opinion her most adorable yo-kai friend get sent flying.

"I'm okay…" Swelterrier called out weakly over where he landed on a soft patch of grass. Getting up, Swelterrier dusted himself off as he walked back over while saying, "Well that could have gone better."

"With all due respect Swelterrier, you are a fool for having attempted that," Arachnus said, "If destroying the totem were that simple of a task, then I have little doubt that Atticus and his fellows would have destroyed the totem themselves the instant that they recovered it from SV Snaggerjag." Turning to face everyone as a whole, Arachnus said, "There is only one way to destroy this totem for sure. It must be taken into Hooligan Road, the most dangerous of the three realms of the yo-kai world. Then, one must find the place in Hooligan Road where the lava below glows its brightest. The totem must then be cast into the lava, where it will then be consumed, forever destroyed."

"So, all we have to do is make a little trip, huh?" Illuminoct remarked, "Heh, sounds like it will be a cakewalk."

"Idiot," Darkyubi sneered at the blonde-haired Venoct brother, "Arachnus just said that Hooligan Road is the most dangerous of the three realms of the yo-kai world. No doubt that the local yo-kai who inhabit that area will try attacking whoever goes there to destroy the totem, if only just to get into a fight."

"Not only that, but there is something else that we must take into consideration," Uber Geeko stated, "Or rather, some _one_."

Regarding Toadal Dude's cousin with a curious look, Kira asked, "What do you mean?"

With a resigned expression, Uber Geeko said, "I speak of McKraken."

"McKraken?" Arachnus repeated in a confused tone, "You mean that yo-kai world chairman who is constantly trying to gain as much political power for himself as possible?"

Nodding once in the affirmative, Uber Geeko said, "Yeah, that's who I'm talking about." To everyone as a whole, Uber Geeko said, "McKraken, or as he is known by his title and full name of Chairman Squiddilius McKraken, is a yo-kai world politician with delusions of grandeur. In fact, prior to this meeting, I received word that-"

Uber Geeko was interrupted by laughter coming from Illuminoct. Both of his brothers turned to face him, with Venoct saying, "Illuminoct, the heck is wrong with you? Why are you laughing?"

"His first name," Illuminoct said between gasps of air, "Is SQUIDDILIUS!" Laughing a bit more, Illuminoct exclaimed, "That's the most ridiculous name I have ever heard in my life!"

"Ridiculous name or not, McKraken is not to be trifled with," Uber Geeko stated to everyone as a whole once Illuminoct's laughter died down, "In fact, as I was about to say prior to me being interrupted by Illuminoct, I learned that SV Snaggerjag went through the trouble of finding this totem because McKraken charged him with the task." With a look of grim understanding on his face, Uber Geeko said, "It is McKraken who is truly after the totem." Upon hearing this fact, everyone at the meeting, human and yo-kai alike, began to talk nervously amongst themselves.

"He's the current head honcho of the yo-kai world from what I've gathered," Toadal Dude said, "So no doubt that he'll be monitoring the entrance, meaning he'll know who goes in and who goes out." Leaning back in his seat a bit, Toadal Dude continued, "That will make it a total pain in the rear to sneak the totem to Hooligan Road so it can be thrown into the lava."

"I have a plan about that," Arachnus said to his fellow yo-kai general. Turning to face where the four humans stood, Arachnus added, "A plan that, if they are both willing, will involve Kira and Atticus helping out."

Regarding the Bony Spirits general with a curious look, Atticus asked, "What do you mean?"

"The task of destroying the totem will require two parties to carry out," Arachnus explained, "One party will distract McKraken, engaging him in battle if it comes down to it. The other party, on the other hand, will head straight to Hooligan Road to destroy the totem."

Getting up from her seat and stepping forward, Kira said, "I shall head to Hooligan Road to destroy the totem." Arachnus's expression looked mildly shocked by Kira's declaration at first, but only at first.

After his expression immediately morphed into one of knowing amusement, Arachnus remarked, "I had a feeling that you'd want to take up the most important part of this quest. Are you sure that you're up to the task, Kira?"

"Atticus and his pals have more experience than me and my pals at fighting big opponents anyway," Kira remarked, "I'm sure he and his posse can take on McKraken."

"Kira has a point," Venoct remarked. Turning to face Atticus, Venoct asked, "I don't suppose you and the Kyubi brothers are up for fighting McKraken, are you?"

"If that's the task that we're saddled with, then I suppose I can't complain," Atticus replied.

"I'm actually kind of looking forward to blasting McKraken in the face with fire," Kyubi remarked casually. A flame sparking to life in his upheld right palm, Kyubi continued, "I never really agreed with anything that oaf of a chairman ever did."

"I myself am also looking forward to a good fight," Darkyubi said as he cracked his knuckles.

"If that is what we are to do in our mutual quest to destroy the totem, then I'm in as well," Frostail replied.

"Then it's settled," Kira said, "While Atticus and his posse goes and takes on McKraken, me and my posse will take care of heading on down to Hooligan Road so we can throw the totem into the lava down there."

"Indeed," Arachnia remarked as he turned to face his human friend, "You can count on me to lend you a hand in getting through Hooligan Road. You have my strength."

"And my skill," Venoct said, a mildly amused smile on his face.

"And my axe," Swelterrier said as he held up the axe he used earlier. However, upon holding his axe up, Swelterrier saw that the axe head was now broken, the axe head a bumpy block rather than a smooth chopping edge. "Oh," Swelterrier remarked in a mildly disappointed tone, "I guess that you don't have my axe, then." Looking over to Kira with a hopeful yet mildly sad look on his face, Swelterrier said, "I can still help you, can I?"

" _So adorable_ ," Kira thought as she regarded her fire dog yo-kai friend.

* * *

Later, Kira and Atticus, accompanied by the Venoct brothers and the Kyubi brothers respectively, both arrived in the yo-kai world via the elevator in the sacred tree up on Mount Wildwood. "I have no doubt that McKraken will know that we just got here," Atticus remarked, "That being said, we ought to hurry." Turning to regard Kira and Venoct, Atticus asked, "You guys know how to get to Hooligan Road, right?"

"I know the way, don't you worry," Kira assured her fellow thirteen-year-old, "You and your yo-kai friends just worry about popping in on McKraken and saying hi, alright?"

"Oh, I'll do more than say hi," Kyubi remarked, his tone suggesting that he had a partuicularly painful visit in mind for the yo-kai chairman. Knowing their respective tasks, Kira's group and Atticus's group proceeded to make their way through the three gates of the yo-kai world, as the Mirapo who normally hangs out by the entrance to the gates was mysteriously not where he should be for some reason.

The red gate had nothing that held up the two groups, and the same can be said of the blue gate. Passing through the black gate on their way up to the gate behind which McKraken waited, Kira's group and Atticus's group ran into a trio of Badudes. "Hey look, some punks came by to play when the big boss said we ain't got no time for visitors," the first Badude said to his fellows while pointing his nailed bat at Kira and Atticus's respective groups, "What do you boys say to giving them a friendly little greeting, eh?"

"Aww, that's cute," Darkyubi remarked in a sarcastic tone as he rushed forward while charging his strongest attack, "Those Badudes think that they're a threat." The instant the trio of Badudes got close enough to be within range of striking Darkyubi, the shadowy nine-tailed fox yo-kai used a very potent attack on them, defeating all three in one go. "Well that didn't take too long," Darkyubi remarked in a neutral tone.

Turning around to face the others after the Badudes poofed away in defeat, Darkyubi said, "Judging by what the one Badude said before I defeated him and his fellows, we might run into some more yo-kai already serving McKraken, if only as cannon fodder. We're going to have our work cut out for us if that's the case."

"Just don't hog all the fun to yourself, brother," Kyubi replied, "You aren't the only one who is itching to cut loose."

After the two groups reached a certain point, they broke off, with Atticus's group heading straight to the gate behind which McKraken waited, and Kira's group heading for the broken area of fence where they can jump through in order to land in Hooligan Road. "Make sure you boys do good at keeping that jerk busy," Kira said to Atticus's group as the two groups parted, "The Venoct brothers and I don't need a buffoon like McKraken breathing down our necks!"

"You just worry about tossing the totem into the lava in Hooligan Road," Atticus replied right before he and the Kyubi brothers ran to the gate that they had to go through in order to reach McKraken, who no doubt was already waiting for what he had no doubt would be a foolhardy party of would-be heroes to come and try to stop him.

But Atticus and his yo-kai friends were far from foolhardy.

Watching for a second as Atticus's group ran to confront McKraken, Kira and the Venoct brothers turned to the broken area of fence that they had to jump through in order to reach Hooligan road. "Well boys," Kira said, "Let's get this over with!"

"Last one to Hooligan Road loses!" Illuminoct exclaimed as he ran through the broken area of fence and fell right into Hooligan Road, jumping into the most dangerous of the three yo-kai world realms as if he were cannonballing into a swimming pool.

"…Only Illuminoct would jump into Hooligan Road like that," Venoct said in a deadpan, an unamused look on his face.

"Well let's not keep him waiting," Kira remarked as she jumped into Hooligan Road after the blonde-haired Venoct brother, with Venoct and Shadow Venoct jumping in after their human friend.

* * *

When Kira, Venoct and Shadow Venoct landed in Hooligan Road, Illuminoct was already waiting for them. "You were the last one to Hooligan Road, Shadow Venoct," Illuminoct said as he pointed to his shadowy brother, "That means you lose." Shadow Venoct simply gave his blonde-haired brother an unamused look in response.

"We can discuss stuff like that later," Kira said to the Venoct brothers as a whole, "For now, we have to locate where the lava glows the brightest here and toss the totem into that lava. If what I believe is true, then we should be able to accomplish this sometime during Atticus and the Kyubi brothers' fight against McKraken."

"Also known as the yo-kai with the most ridiculous name ever," Illuminoct stated.

Turning to face Illuminoct, Venoct said in a dry tone, "You are amused by the simplest things, aren't you?"

"Sometimes the simplest things are the best things," Illuminoct replied as he held up his right index finger.

"Simple like you?" Shadow Venoct asked, drawing an annoyed look out of Illuminoct.

"You boys can tear into each other later," Kira said, getting the attention of the three Venoct brothers. Holding up the totem, Kira continued, "Right now, we got a totem to destroy."

"Yeah, we should focus on that," Venoct remarked in a tone of agreement, "Besides, it's a bit hot down here. The sooner we destroy the totem and leave this place, the better." Gesturing for the Venoct brothers to follow her, Kira led the way to explore Hooligan Road in search of where the lava below glows its brightest.

* * *

Chairman Squiddilius McKraken saw, via a crystal ball, two humans enter the yo-kai world, and he also saw that each was accompanied by some powerful yo-kai that they had respectively befriended. What he didn't see coming was that only one group of human and yo-kai friends, rather than both groups, would confront him in battle.

"You have got to be squidding me!" McKraken exclaimed as Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi began to fight him, "Yo-kai as tough as you three siding with the humans?! This is the most sqiudiculous thing ever!"

"Use one more squid-based pun," Darkyubi said in a warning tone as he used a draining attack to sap McKraken's health, "Go ahead. See what happens."

"Alright, let's rotate!" Atticus said, prompting the Kyubi brothers to all move to their left; this removed the Kyubi brothers from combat while bringing in Toadal Dude, Uber Geeko and Hornaplenty to fight McKraken. Right after the three tough-tribe S-ranks were rotated into the fight, Hornaplenty immediately struck McKraken with his long horn, followed by Uber Geeko throwing an elemental fire attack right at McKraken's face, followed by Toadal Dude swinging his head around to smack McKraken with his toad tongue-like length of hair.

"No way!" McKraken exclaimed as he was assailed by the combined assault of the three tough-tribe S-rank yo-kai.

* * *

After bashing their way through a group of yo-kai that inhabited Hooligan Road, Kira and the Venoct brothers continued on their way to find the right area to toss the totem into the lava down below. "Wow, the yo-kai down here are total battle-junkies," Venoct remarked in a tone that was three-parts impressed and seven parts concerned, "We ought to hurry and find a good place where we can destroy the totem."

"Agreed," Kira said as she and the Venoct brothers continued on their way, "The more fights we get dragged into, the more time it will take us to-"

"Umm, excuse me," a Timidevil living in Hooligan Road said as he approached the group, "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I-"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Illuminoct roared at the Timidevil, the look of anger on his face exaggerated on his part to maximize the intimidation factor. Illuminoct's efforts were well worth it, as the Timidevil instantly ran away from Illuminoct and the others, screaming in fear.

"Umm…wow," Kira remarked in a tone of subdued amazement as she watched the Timidevil flee, "That was rather impressive, Illuminoct."

"I never really cared for people who come up to me because they want to try to sell me something," Illuminoct remarked as he put his hands on his hips, "So I've been working on my skills of scaring others off."

"For once, something stupid that you do actually worked out for the best," Venoct said with a nod, "That's one less fight that we have to worry about."

Kira and the Venoct brothers continued their trek through Hooligan Road, avoiding fights when possible, bashing their way through fights that couldn't be avoided, and letting Illuminoct scare off any Timidevils that try coming up to them. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity to Kira, she and the Venoct brothers found an area of Hooligan Road where, looking over the edge, allowed them to see lava down below where the lava glowed brightly.

"This seems like as good of a place as any," Venoct remarked. Turning to face Kira, Venoct said, "I say we toss the totem into the lava here."

Nodding once in agreement, Kira took the totem out of her bag, held it over the edge, and unceremoniously dropped it, allowing it to fall I to the lava down below. Within a few seconds, the totem fell into the lava with a barely audible 'splat'. Looking over the edge, Kira and the Venoct brothers saw the totem go up in flames as it sunk into the lava. After that, they saw a wave of visible energy, a sinister shade of purple in color, emanate from the totem as it was consumed by the lava.

"The totem has been destroyed," Shadow Venoct remarked. After he, his brothers and Kira backed away from where the totem was tossed into the lava, Shadow Venoct turned to face Kira and said, "If Atticus and the Kyubi brothers are still dealing with McKraken, I say we should go and back them up if need be."

"Good point," Kira remarked, "Let's see if we can get them to owe us a favor."

* * *

McKraken was on his last legs, as he was fighting a losing battle against Atticus and Atticus's yo-kai friends. "This…this can't be…" McKraken panted in exhaustion, "How can I be losing? And to a sorry lot like-" McKraken was cut off when a crystal ball on a pillar in his throne room not only cracked, but did so loud enough to get the chairman's attention. "No!" McKraken exclaimed as he turned to face the crystal ball on the pillar, "The totem must have been destroyed!" Turning back to face the party that confronted him, McKraken swore, "This was all your doing, wasn't it?!"

"Actually, another human who has befriended yo-kai destroyed the totem," Atticus replied with an amused smile on his face, "All my group and I did was distract you."

Eyes widening upon realizing that he had been played for a fool, McKraken roared with anger as he charged at Atticus and the Kyubi brothers. "Yeah, I don't think so," Frostail remarked in a casual tone as he threw his strongest attack at the yo-kai chairman, defeating him in the process. After the defeated McKraken poofed away in a swirling cloud of smoke, Atticus turned to regard his yo-kai friends.

"We…we did it," Atticus remarked, his tired tone suggesting that he was not up for showing actual surprise, but that he was still happy that McKraken had been defeated.

"Yo, I need to check something, dudes," Toadal Dude said as he walked over to where McKraken's crystal ball sat. Checking the crystal ball for a few seconds, Toadal Dude turned to face Atticus and the others, "Yep, what McKraken said before Frostail finished him off is true. This here crystal ball cracking is totally a sure sign that the totem has been destroyed."

"Which means that Kira and her group succeeded in their part of this little joint adventure of ours," Darkyubi said.

"I say that a celebration is in order, gentlemen," Hornaplenty remarked to his fellow yo-kai and Atticus, "Who's with me, eh?"

"A party does sound pretty good right about now," Atticus replied, crossing his arms as he nodded in agreement. With their part of the quest accomplished, Atticus led his yo-kai friends out of McKraken's throne room. Right when they exited, they ran into Kira and her group of yo-kai friends that she brought with her. "Oh, fancy running into you," Atticus said to Kira as he greeted her group, "Something popped up during our fight against McKraken that gave us the hint that you all successfully destroyed the totem."

"Yeah, the boys and I tossed that thing into the lava down in Hooligan Road," Kira replied, "And seeing as how you and your posse aren't lying around in defeat, I take it that you all succeeded in handing McKraken's butt to him on a silver platter?"

"It was Frostail who scored the finishing blow on McKraken," Kyubi remarked. With an amused smile on his face, Kyubi continued as he put his hands on his hips, "Which is odd, seeing as how I'm usually the one to land the finishing blows on major opponents."

After everyone laughed a bit in good humor, Kira clapped her hands together. "Anywho boys," Kira began, "Seeing as how we just completed a major in defeating McKraken and destroying the totem, I say we celebrate with a little shindig. Who's with me?"

"Heh," Atticus replied with a chuckle, "Hornaplenty actually recommended doing that very thing, Kira." With a nod, Atticus said, "Yeah, celebrating this victory of ours is a good idea. The only question is where we're going to celebrate."

* * *

In the evening, a festival of sorts had been set up around the shrine on Mount Wildwood. Kira, Atticus, notable yo-kai friends of theirs, and a few other people were at the festival, celebrating the defeat of McKraken and the foiling of whatever plan he had in mind involving the totem. "Hey Eddie, what did Bear do to get himself grounded again?" Kira asked as she talked to Eddie.

"Bear's dad said that Bear actually took the fall for him accidentally busting a window at their house," Eddie explained, "Apparently, Bear's dad was terrified of what Bear's mom would do, so Bear agreed to take the fall for him."

Nodding in understanding, Illuminoct said, "Wow, that's pretty big of Bear to do. That guy deserves some mad props, if you ask me."

"And Nate's under the weather, so he couldn't make it either," Venoct remarked. Turning to regard Eddie, Venoct asked, "What about Katie, though? She's not in any trouble as far as I'm aware, and she isn't sick, either. Why didn't she come to the festival?"

"She said that she wanted to check in on Nate to see how he's doing," Eddie explained to Venoct. With a confused shrug, Eddie said, "I'm not sure why Katie would want to go through all that trouble for Nate, though. I mean, Katie never went through that trouble for any of the girls she's friends with, from what I've gathered."

"It's…a girl thing, Eddie," Kira replied in a knowing tone of mild amusement, "I'll tell you about it when you're older." Gesturing to the ongoing festival that was around them, Kira said, "In the meanwhile, you ought to enjoy yourself here. I mean, it's a festival, little dude! Have some fun, why don't you?"

With a single nod of agreement, Eddie said, "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea." Kira and the Venoct brothers then watched as Eddie went off to look around the festival grounds. As they did so, Atticus and the Kyubi brothers came walking up.

"Giving one of the younger kids some pearls of wisdom, Kira?" Atticus asked in a casual, conversational tone, prompting Kira and the Venoct brothers to turn to face him.

"I was just telling Eddie to take it easy," Kira replied. With a shrug, Kira said, "So Atticus, how are you and your posse enjoying the festival?"

"I'll admit that it's a pretty interesting way to celebrate our victory against McKraken," Atticus remarked before taking a sip from the soda he was holding.

Nodding in agreement, Kira said, "We ought to do this more often, don't you think?"

"Only when we've done something that's worth celebrating at this level," Atticus replied. Gently shaking his head, Atticus continued, "It wouldn't do to overstimulate ourselves."

"Well obviously," Kira said as she stretched her arms into the air. Lowering her arms back down, Kira began, "Hey Atticus, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about." Jerking a thumb over her shoulder, Kira pointed out where Dragon Lord was talking to Azure Dragon; the two S-rank dragon yo-kai were getting along swimmingly.

"How in the heck did you find Azure Dragon?" Kira asked.

"I followed a rumor that I heard concerning Azure Dragon being sighted over in the area of Excellent Tower," Atticus explained. A mildly curious look on his face, Atticus asked, "Why do you ask, Kira?"

"Well a while ago, the Venoct brothers and I had to take on a vampire yo-kai," Kira said, "And that we were told that getting ahold of a dragon yo-kai would be our best bet. Azure Dragon was one of the possible dragon yo-kai that was brought up, but we ended up trying to find Dragon Lord instead."

"Oh yeah, that job of yours involving a vampire yo-kai messing with Springdale Elementary students," Atticus remarked. Gesturing to Kira, Atticus said, "I've actually been meaning to ask you about that. Mind entertaining me with a story?"

With an amused smile, Kira said, "Well I don't see why not."

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER SEVEN

Author's notes:

Well then, I just finished a multi-part adventure in this story. The next chapter should see a return to the one chapter per adventure setting. The only problem is deciding what plot I have in mind to employ for the next chapter (I have at least two working ideas).


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter eight: A meal for Bakulia's siblings

Rebecca Forester was in the kitchen of her family's home in Uptown Springdale one morning, preparing breakfast. Rebecca's husband had to leave for work before he could grab anything, as the team he belonged to at the Business Center in Downtown Springdale had to go over a new pitch for some merchandise themed after yo-kai, something that started up very shortly after the phenomena that occurred roughly two years previous, that allowed humans to interact with yo-kai as easily as they could with other humans.

Although mildly annoyed that her husband left for work before he could grab anything to eat, Rebecca respected the fact that he was a leading member of the team he belonged to, thus his presence was often required as early and as frequently as possible. Rebecca further respected the fact that her husband was one of the highest paid people working down at the Business Center in Downtown Springdale. Besides, at the very least, Rebecca could still have breakfast with her and her husband's daughter Katie.

"Katie," Rebecca called up the stairs of her family's house, "I just got breakfast ready!" After about half a minute passed without any response from Katie, Rebecca called up the stairs again. "Katie?" Rebecca called up, "Sweetie? Are you-"

Rebecca was cut off by an exhausted, half-unintelligible grumbling that sounded like it came from Katie. A few seconds after that, Katie came down from the second floor of the house. The eleven-year-old girl had a dead tired look on her face, as if she had not gotten even one second of sleep the previous night. "Wass weh all de nas?" Katie grumbled, exhaustion making her speech slightly slurred.

"Did you stay up all night again, young lady?" Rebecca asked, a concerned look on her face. Pointing up the stairs in a gentle, non-authoritative manner, Rebecca said, "You need to get some sleep. Why don't you go back to bed, Katie?"

"Yez Nat, yer bury bah-purrty," Katie replied in her tired, slurred tone before slowly turning around to head back upstairs to go back to bed. As she watched her daughter go back up the stairs, Rebecca could not help but worry. This had been the third morning in a row that Katie came down stairs, looking as if she had not gotten even a peep of sleep the previous night. And if what the mothers of other kids in the Uptown Springdale, Breezy Hills and Blossom Heights areas said is correct, this problem is not just limited to Katie.

In fact, to Rebecca's knowledge, there are only two youths in those areas, both living in Uptown Springdale, who are unaffected, that being those two thirteen-year-olds that are known to befriend yo-kai. With that fact in mind, Rebecca figured that she should ask one of those two young teens in question to help look into this rather troubling matter.

* * *

Kira, along with her yo-kai friends Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, walked through the front door of Kira's grandmother's home in Uptown Springdale, having just returned from taking care of a small issue of business involving yo-kai over in Blossom Heights. "Whoever it was that said that it was a good idea to have a glass of milk after spending some time at the bathhouse had it right on the money," Shadow Venoct remarked as he, his brothers and Kira entered the house.

"I'll agree to that," Kira said, "I'm rather partial to the Coffee Milk, personally."

"And the lady who was selling the milk said something about Atticus usually preferring the Fruit Milk," Venoct pointed out, "Who would have guessed that Atticus of all people is a regular over at the bath house?"

With a bit of a chuckle, Kira said, "Well Venoct, when you-"

"Oh, there you are, Kira," the familiar voice of Kira's grandmother Sophia called out. Looking over to the living room, Kira and the Venoct brothers saw that Sophia was entertaining two guests. Specifically, the guests were Rebecca Forester and Lily Adams. Gesturing to the two ladies, Sophia said, "These women were actually looking to speak with you and you yo-kai friends about a matter of some kind."

Sighing in a knowing tone, Shadow Venoct asked the two visiting women, "What did Illuminoct do to mess up this time?"

"I don't think that he did anything, to be honest," Lily replied, "Unless he somehow has the ability to keep people up nonstop for days at a time."

"What do you mean by that, Mrs. Adams?" Kira asked, "Oh and by the way, it's great that you're keeping up with what Sergeant Burly taught you."

"Thank you, young lady," Lily responded, "And to answer your question, a lot of the children in the Uptown Springdale, Breezy Hills and Blossom Heights areas are reported to have not gotten any sleep at all in a little over three days. This includes my son Nate, Rebecca's daughter Katie, Sarah's son Eddie and Gilda's son Bear."

"The boys and Katie are all suffering from insomnia?" Kira said in a mildly surprised tone, "That can't be good."

"Yeah, and I highly doubt that Illuminoct is responsible for keeping them up, as he doesn't really associate with the boys unless Kira's working with them," Venoct remarked.

"Yeah, I guess I owe him an apology," Shadow Venoct added.

"Accepted," Illuminoct said with a nod.

"Also, even if my brother _was_ keeping them up," Venoct continued, "As soon as he left them alone, the kids would be bound to fall asleep." To Rebecca and Lily, Venoct said, "You two are saying that the kids have not gotten any sleep at all over the previous seventy-two hours, right?"

"Exactly," Lily replied, nodding once in confirmation.

With a look of consideration on her face, Kira said, "If that all is true, then we're dealing with a yo-kai whose powers revolve around sleep." With a shrug, Kira added, "Of course, with a description as vague as 'yo-kai whose powers revolving around sleep', the culprit could be any one of a number of yo-kai. At least four different kinds of yo-kai come to mind for me with such a vague description."

"Do you think you and your yo-kai friends can look into the matter for us?" Rebecca asked in a concerned tone, "As mothers of some of the kids that are affected, Lily and I are rather worried."

Turning to face the Venoct brothers, Kira said, "Well, boys? What do you think?" All three of the Venoct brothers agreed that taking the job would be a good idea. Turning to face the visiting women, Kira said, "Well, there you have it. We're all in."

"Oh, that's great!" Lily said as she clasped her hands together.

"What do you intend to do?" Rebecca asked in a curious tone.

"First off, I think that the boys and I should investigate some of the homes where the affected kids live," Kira began, "You know, to check things out. Hopefully we'll find at least some sort of clue as to what yo-kai, if any, is messing with the kids' ability to catch some sleep."

"When do you intend to begin the investigation, dear?" Sophia asked.

"Right around now, actually," Kira replied, "Assuming of course that Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Forester and the other moms of the affected kids don't mind me and the Venoct brothers coming over to their places right away to look around for clues."

"I see no problem with having you and your group coming over to my family's home right now to try and discover what's keeping Katie up," Rebecca stated.

"Well, at least we know where to start our investigation," Venoct said as he turned to regard his human friend.

* * *

A short while later, Kira and the Venoct brothers were at the Forester residence, looking around the place for any evidence that may lead to who's responsible. During the search, Kira saw how tired Katie looked; seeing the bags under the eleven-year-old girl's eyes left the thirteen-year-old girl felling at least a little bit rattled. "Geez," Kira remarked to Venoct on the first floor of the Forester residence, "If all of the affected kids have bags under their eyes like the kind that Katie has going on right now, then we ought to hurry this job along."

"Did you try scanning any area of this place with your Yo-kai Watch?" Venoct asked.

"I tried everywhere on the second floor, as that's where the bedrooms are located," Kira replied, "I didn't get anything up there, though. I haven't tried the first floor yet, however."

"Then why not give it a whirl?" Illuminoct asked.

Nodding in agreement, Kira popped up the lens of her Yo-kai Watch and proceeded to scan around the first floor of the Forester residence. "Huh," Kira began in an unsurprised tone, "I don't think that I'm Holy crud I just found something!" Hearing Kira deviate midsentence, the Venoct brothers all turned to look where Kira was scanning with her Yo-kai Watch. Within a few short seconds, three yo-kai who were trying to actively cloak their presence were decloaked. As such, Kira and her yo-kai friends saw a Bakulia and two Baku standing in the living room.

"What in the heck are those?!" Rebecca exclaimed in mild alarm as she pointed to the two Baku and one Bakulia.

"The two that look identical to each other are Baku," Kira explained, "While the one standing on its hind legs and is wearing jewelry is Bakulia. They're two of the sleep-related yo-kai that I was considering back at me and my Grandma Sophia's place."

"So, _they_ ' _re_ the ones responsible for Katie and the other kids staying up so much!" Rebecca said in an angry and confident tone.

With a gentle shake of his head, Venoct said, "Not necessarily, Mrs. Forester. Baku has the power to actually put people to sleep, so it can eat their dreams. As for Bakulia, it can enter people's dreams so see what kind of dreams they're having. Both involve people sleeping, so none of them can be responsible for the kids all staying up." Taking a step closer to Bakulia and the Baku duo, Venoct continued, "Although their presence here does raise a rather pertinent question. What are they doing here?"

"I'm just trying to help my siblings here find some dreams to eat is all," Bakulia explained, "But with the number of people we've come across staying up, finding dreams to eat is a slow-going process. Even if my siblings try putting someone to sleep, those people promptly wake right back up, thus depriving my siblings of food."

"Hey Kira," Rebecca began, "If these yo-kai have the power to put people to sleep, do you know of any that can keep people up?"

"The only yo-kai that I know of who can keep people up is Insomni," Kira replied, "And now that I think about it, an Insomni is the most likely suspect behind all of the kids staying up."

"I don't suppose my siblings and I can be of any assistance, can we?" Bakulia offered.

Looking to the trio of tapir yo-kai, Kira said, "Hmm? You guys want to help?"

"With our powers, we can help set up some bait to hopefully catch this Insomni in the act," Bakulia explained, "My Baku siblings can put the girl upstairs to sleep, and I can take you into the world of dreams. If we're in someone's dream and that person wakes up, we'll promptly appear back in the waking world near that person, and hopefully, the Insomni that's keeping everyone awake."

"Sounds like a plan," Kira remarked, "Assuming the Venoct brothers are comfortable dream-traveling."

"I'm assuming that we can't take anything we find in a dream back with us?" Illuminoct asked as he raised a hand.

"That is correct," Bakulia replied, "If you pick something up in a dream and you try to take it back with you to the waking world, it'll simply disappear. Dreams cannot exist in the waking world, after all."

"Okay, I just wanted to confirm a theory I had about dreams," Illuminoct said.

"So then, here's the plan," Kira said to everyone present, "Assuming Mrs. Forester give us the go ahead, the Baku here will make Katie fall asleep, then Bakulia will take me and the Venoct brothers into Katie's dream. If Katie wakes up while we're in her dream, that should mean that Insomni should be nearby. We catch Insomni, force her to stop whatever she's trying to do, and bada-bing bada-boom, the kids will finally be able to catch some sleep."

"Will Katie suffer any sort of harm from this plan?" Rebecca asked in a concerned tone.

"The only thing that should happen will be your daughter having a dreamless sleep by the time we're done," Bakulia replied, "There is no need to worry."

After a few seconds of considering the idea, Rebecca gave Kira and the yo-kai the go ahead to carry out the plan, asking them to be careful with Katie. Assuring Rebecca that she and the Venoct brothers were professionals, Kira led all of the yo-kai upstairs to Katie's room. Entering the room, they saw Katie, dressed in her regular daytime clothes, lying on her bed, her half-open eyes looking drained of all energy.

"Okay Baku twins, do your magic," Kira said. The two Baku aimed their long noses at Katie and shot a visible smoke at the eleven-year-old girl. When the smoke made contact with her, Katie promptly fell asleep. Turning to Bakulia, Kira said, "Alright, now it's your turn."

"Right," Bakulia said as it waived its fan in the air. A light surrounded Bakulia, Kira and the Venoct brothers, just before the five of them promptly vanished, disappearing to a realm that was beyond the waking world.

* * *

Kira, the Venoct brothers and Bakulia found themselves in the hallway on the second floor of the Forester residence. If it wasn't for the fact that everything had a very mildly hazy look to it, Kira would have assumed that they didn't really enter any dream at all.

"Wow," Illuminoct remarked as he looked around the very mildly hazy environment, "So this is what the Emerald Dream looks like."

After Shadow Venoct promptly smacked his blonde-haired brother in the back of the head, Bakulia said, "The very mildly hazy appearance of this realm confirms that we are, in fact, in the world of dreams. In fact, this specific dream of that Katie girl's looks familiar to me." Looking around a bit, Bakulia said, "Yes, we are indeed inside of Katie's preferred dream."

"Katie's preferred dream?" Kira asked, "What are you-"

"Katie," Rebecca's voice called from down stairs, "Someone's at the door for you!"

"I'm coming, mom!" Katie called back as she came out of her room and rushed past Kira and the yo-kai. As this was a dream, Kira and the yo-kai, who come from the waking world, were all invisible to the people of the dream.

A mildly curious look on her face, Kira said, "I wanna see what's going on here." Leading Bakulia and the Venoct brothers, Kira went down stairs and saw Katie open the front door. When Katie did open the door, Kira had to suppress a chuckle; Katie was being visited by Nate, although the Nate in Katie's dream had a very bishouen face that was practically surrounded by the sparkles one would see around such a face.

The Nate in Katie's dream was wearing a red shirt that was open in the front, revealing a light blue under shirt worn underneath, a pair of light tan pants held up with a brown belt (the pants legs ended about halfway down Nate's shins), and a pair of brown boots. Kira had to suppress another chuckle when dream Nate pulled out a rose and held it out to Katie.

"As always, you are looking beautiful, Katie," Nate said, "I don't suppose you'd be interested in a romantic day out on the town with me, would you?"

"All of the yes," Katie replied as she instantly left with Nate. After Katie walked out the door, Bakulia turned to face Kira and the Venoct brothers.

"That Katie girl had this very dream every night for quite a while now," Bakulia explained, "But whenever I get to the part where she's about to open the door, I get flung out of the dream."

"I'm guessing that since that hasn't happened yet, Insomni isn't anywhere near Katie right now?" Kira asked.

Nodding in the affirmative, Bakulia said, "It looks like it. Come, we'll check out another dream." Bakulia, Kira and the Venoct brother all floated up before vanishing, heading out to explore another dream in hopes of catching Insomni in the act.

* * *

A short while later, Kira, Bakulia and the Venoct brothers appeared in another dream world, landing in the living room of the Adams residence. "Now we are in the dream of that Nate boy," Bakulia explained, "I guess that Insomni isn't harassing him right now, thus letting him fall asleep and have this dream."

"I don't suppose that this is Nate's preferred dream, is it?" Kira asked, "Because after seeing what Katie's preferred dream looks like, I'm kind of curious to see what other peoples' preferred dreams are."

After looking around for a few seconds, Bakulia said, "Yep, this looks to be Nate's preferred dream, all right."

"So, if Katie's preferred dream is a boy-pretty Nate asking her out," Venoct began, "What's Nate's preferred-" Venoct was cut off when a cat rushed past him, mildly surprising the S-rank yo-kai. Following the direction that the cat ran in, Kira and the others saw it run up to Nate, who just returned home from somewhere. Seeing the cat, Nate smiled, bent down, and rubbed its head, eliciting a purr out of the cat.

"I'm glad to see you too, Steve," Nate said to the cat, prompting the cat to meow as if it were giving a similar response to the eleven-year-old boy. Nate then proceeded to walk over to the staircase and go upstairs, with Steve the cat following him. After Nate and the cat disappeared upstairs, Bakulia turned to face Kira and the Venoct brothers.

"Nate's preferred dream," Kira began in a mildly dumbfounded tone, "Is him owning a cat." With a confused look on her face, Kira said, "Are you serious?!"

"Some dreams are not as elaborate as others," Bakulia pointed out, "Some dreams reflect the simple desires of those who have them."

"You know, I'd figure that Nate might be turned away from the idea of owning a cat due to that kerfuffle with Dracunyan," Illuminoct said.

"Actually, Nate was under a trance for pretty much all of that, so he didn't really see any of what was going on," Kira pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Illuminoct replied as he nodded in understanding, "Now I remember."

"Ever since the issue involving the kids being kept up started," Bakulia began, "Whenever I visit this dream, I get flung out sometime before the boy and his cat reaches the stairs. That being said, I'm doubting that Insomni is near-by."

"A…nother dream, then?" Kira replied.

"Another dream," Bakulia replied in a tone of confirmation as it, Kira and the Venoct brothers all floated up in the world of Nate's dream before disappearing.

* * *

Later, Kira, Bakulia and the Venoct brothers appeared in another dream. This time, they appeared in an indoor arena where one would go to watch a monster truck rally. "This here is the preferred dream of that Bear boy who hangs out with that Nate boy," Bakulia stated to Kira and the Venoct brothers, "We should be seeing him pop up at any m-"

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," an announcer called out, cutting Bakulia off in the process, "To A-truck-alypse Now, the area show where mutant trucks crush each other!" Kira and the yo-kai proceeded to turn their attention to the arena, where monster trucks proceeded to ram into each other, the sound of truck ramming into truck ringing in the air as a glorious symphony of mindless violence.

"And here is the star of A-truck-alypse Now," the announcer called out, "Barnaby 'Bear' Bernstein, driving the legend itself, Groundbreaker!" Suddenly, Kira and the yo-kai saw a truly epic monster truck drive into the arena, with the audience chanting Bear's real name in a 'Barn-a-by! Barn-a-by!' type fashion.

"Bear's preferred dream is him being a monster truck driver," Kira remarked as she gestured to the display before her and the yo-kai, "Now you see, that's the kind of dream most people would assume boys Bear's age to have."

Down in the arena, Bear rammed into another monster truck, breaking off a mirror attached to the driver side door of the other monster truck. The mirror landed in Bear's monster truck, so he picked it up and tossed it out the window of his monster truck's driver side door, where it landed in the audience. The mirror ended up being caught by a pair of boys, one a seventeen-year-old Hispanic boy and the other an eleven-year-old Caucasian boy with ashy-white hair.

"Dude, we just got a souvenir!" the older boy said to the younger, "Hey, you think Lori would like this mirror?"

"Why wouldn't she?" the younger boy of the pair replied, just as excited as the Hispanic teen that he was with.

As Kira and the yo-kai watched Bear drive over a junked car, flattening it in the process, Bakulia said, "Insomni is nowhere near Bear. Otherwise, we would have been ejected from this dream before we saw Bear drive over and flattened that junked car."

"Hey Kira, since we checked both Nate and Bear, maybe we should check Eddie as well," Venoct suggested.

"Meh, you got a point," Kira replied with a shrug, "I mean, you make an excellent point about how we saw both Bear's dream and Nate's dream, so we might as well visit Eddie's dream so that we'd get the whole package." Understanding the cue, Bakulia raised its fan into the air, waved it around a bit, and it, Kira, and the Venoct brothers all disappeared from Bear's dream.

* * *

Kira, the Venoct brothers and Bakulia then appeared floating in the air in another dream. "This is the dream of that Eddie Archer boy," Bakulia stated, "And from the look of it, I'd say that this is Eddie's preferred dream."

"We're floating over the park in Breezy Hills," Shadow Venoct noted as he, his brothers and Kira looked down, "So I'm guessing that Eddie's preferred dream is spending the day at the park? Sounds kind of simple, but a very pleasing experience none-" Shadow Venoct was cut off when he heard Eddie's voice call out.

"Wow dad, you sure went all out with that kite," Eddie could be heard saying. Looking down, Kira and the yo-kai saw that Eddie was flying kites with his father. Both kites were elaborate builds that clearly cost more than most kites. Kira, though, wasn't surprised for two reasons; one, this was a dream, and two, even in real life, such expensive models of kites were well within the budget of the Archer family.

"Well if you're going to do something, you ought to do it right," Eddie's dad replied in a kind and mildly self-amused tone.

The two Archer men flew their kites for a bit more time before Eddie's mother Sarah called out, "Hey boys, the food's ready!" Looking over, Kira and the yo-kai saw that Sarah had set up a picnic lunch at an outdoor table in the park. The two Archer men took their kites down before heading over to eat.

As Kira and the yo-kai watched this, Kira said, "So Eddie's preferred dream is spending the day at the park…with his parents." Suddenly, to the surprise of Kira and the Venoct brothers, the dream began to shift around a bit. "Is Insomni nearby?!" Kira cried out in a mildly alarmed tone.

"No, the dream is just shifting to a different scene," Bakulia replied, "No need to worry." What the tapir yo-kai said was correct; the dream shifted from a scene at the park in Breezy Hills to a scene outside the Archer residence. Kira and the yo-kai saw someone working on the Archer family's car. Knowing how well-off the Archer family was, Kira at first assumed that the Archer family simply hired someone to tend to their car for them, a theory that the Venoct brothers all shared. However, to their collective surprise, it turned out that Eddie's dad was working on it.

Furthermore, Kira and the Venoct brothers saw that Eddie was helping his dad. When the two Archer men got up from looking under the car's hood, both had grime on them, the kind of grime that results from working on cars a lot. After the two Archer men got up, Sarah came walking out of the house and saw how dirty Eddie and Eddie's dad was.

"You two are filthy!" Sarah remarked, "You ought to go inside and get yourselves cleaned up!"

"Oh really?" Eddie's dad replied in a knowing tone. Walking up to his wife, Eddie's dad traced his right index finger over a smear of grime on his face, then traced that finger down his wife's left cheek. "Now you're filthy too," Eddie's dad remarked in an amused tone, "You ought to get cleaned yourself."

After a few seconds of just standing there looking at her husband, Sarah burst out laughing. This prompted both Eddie and Eddie's dad to burst out laughing as well. As Kira and the yo-kai watched this scene, the dream shifted again to another scene.

In this new scene, Kira and the yo-kai found themselves in the Archer family living room, which was dark save for illumination coming from the TV, which was playing a movie. The Archers, with Eddie sitting between his parents, were sitting on the sofa. Apparently, while they were watching the movie, the Archers all fell asleep. "Umm…" Kira began to remark in a somber tone of realization, "…Wow. I'm guessing that what Eddie said about his parents hardly ever being around has more weight than I first thought."

"Indeed," Bakulia remarked, "This is by far one of the sweetest dreams I ever saw. That's partly why this dream is one of the favorite dreams that my-" Bakulia was cut off midsentence when it, Kira and the Venoct brothers all felt themselves being yanked out of the world of Eddie's dream. "This feeling," Bakulia said in a tone of realization, "This feeling of being yanked out of the dream world! Insomni must be bothering that Eddie boy!"

"Alright Venoct bros," Kira said to her yo-kai friends, "I hope that the three of you are ready for a fight!"

"Come at me, bro!" Illuminoct exclaimed in a 'bring it on' tone as he, his brothers, Kira and Bakulia were all fully yanked out of the dream world, and promptly flung into the waking world. Upon arriving, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Bakulia landed on their feet; Illuminoct and Kira landed on their respective butts.

When they looked to Eddie's bed, they saw a one-eyed yo-kai floating over it, casting its inspiritment at the slowly-waking Eddie. "That's Insomni," Bakulia said to Kira and the Venoct brothers, "We caught her in the act!"

"Oi, Insomni!" Kira snapped, catching the one-eyed yo-kai off guard. Stopping her actions against Eddie, Insomni turned to face the direction the call came from. When she did, Insomni saw Kira and the yo-kai that was with her.

"Who are you lot?" Insomni asked as she put her hands on her hips.

"We were asked to look into the matter concerning kids in the Uptown Springdale, Breezy Hills and Blossom Heights staying up nonstop for the last couple of days," Kira explained, "Not only are you causing problems for the humans, but this Bakulia here is upset because you keeping the kids up is depriving its Baku siblings from getting human dreams to eat."

"Oh please, I'm doing the kids in those areas a favor," Insomni replied in a dismissive tone, "Why waste time sleeping when there's so much fun stuff to do?"

"Boys," Kira began in an eerily calm tone.

"Yes, Kira?" Venoct replied in a curious tone.

In response, Kira simply said, "Do it."

"What are you talking about, human?" Insomni said in a confused tone, "What do you mean by-" Before Insomni could continue, however, the three Venoct brothers all rushed her, immediately taking her on in battle. The battle did not last all that long, but then again, that's what happens when it's one A-rank yo-kai versus three S-rank yo-kai.

As Insomni laid on the floor in defeat, Eddie gathered enough awareness to tell that Kira, the Venoct brothers, and two yo-kai that he didn't recognize were in his bedroom. "Kira?" Eddie said in a confused tone, "What's going on here?"

Pointing to where Insomni laid on the floor, Kira said as she turned to face Eddie, "Yeah, you know how you and all of the other kids you hang out with have been staying up nonstop over the last few days? That there yo-kai is responsible."

"Really?" Eddie said in a mildly surprised tone, "I didn't know that-" Eddie stopped short as he let out a yawn. "…Yeah, I'm glad you found out what was going on," Eddie said in a tired tone, "Now I can finally get some sleep."

"Aww," Insomni said in a tone of complaint as she struggled to get up, "I can't believe it. No one ever wants to hang out with me because they're too busy sleeping. That's why I was trying to keep everyone up, so that people would have time to hang out with me."

"…Why not try hanging out with them when they're actually awake?" Venoct asked.

"They hang out with each other during that time," Insomni replied.

"You…you can still try hanging out with them at that time," Venoct pointed out.

"Yeah, but it'd be really super awkward," Insomni said. Straightening herself out as best as she could, Insomni continued, "Now who will want me to hang out with them?"

"…How about us?" Kira offered as she gestured to herself and the Venoct brothers, "Assuming of course that you don't use your insomnia powers on us, and if you apologize to the kids that you've affected. Their respective mothers will be wanting you to apologize, you know."

"R-really?" Insomni said in a tone suggesting she was trying to hold back tears, "Y-you want me to hang out with you?"

"Why the heck not?" Kira replied with a shrug, "I mean, someone who can-" Kira was cut off when Insomni flew forward, threw her arms around Kira's shoulders in a hug, then proceeded to cry into the thirteen-year-old girl's shoulder. Smiling, Kira simply patted Insomni on the back.

"There, there," Kira said in a gentle tone as she patted Insomni on the back, "You aren't a bad person. You just made some mistakes is all. Everything will be alright."

* * *

Later that day, Kira was sitting on the sofa in her grandma's house. As she sat on the sofa, Kira looked at the yo-kai medal for Insomni that she got. Looking up from Insomni's medal, Kira saw the Venoct brothers watching TV, which was currently playing a (somewhat outdated) news report about the case of kids all over the Uptown Springdale, Breezy Hills and Blossom Heights areas staying up.

"Well boys," Kira said, "Once we explained to the various mothers why Insomni did what she did, they were surprisingly understanding. They were also rather gracious in accepting Insomni's apology for her actions."

"The kids can finally get some sleep now," Venoct said, "I guess that's all that the mothers really care about now."

"Yeah," Illuminoct remarked, "And speaking of kids sleeping, the dreams that we visited thanks to Bakulia were pretty interesting, wouldn't you say?"

Nodding in agreement, Kira replied, "Yeah, I guess we all learned a little bit more about Katie and the boys."

"Speaking of boys," Shadow Venoct began, "I can't help but wonder…what are Atticus and the Kyubi brothers up to right now?"

…

Atticus and Kyubi could be seen standing in a room at an assisted living center in the Springdale area. There was an older gentleman laying in the bed in the room, fast asleep. Floating nearby was a yo-kai that, aside from a different color scheme, looked exactly like Insomni.

"It's a good thing that you can control the strength of your sleep inducing-powers, Sandi," Atticus remarked, "Thanks to that, the seniors living here that have been suffering from insomnia will be able to finally get some much-needed rest."

"Not getting enough sleep is never good," Sandi remarked in a tone of agreement. Turning to face Atticus and Kyubi, Sandi asked, "Is this the last one?"

"Yes, this gentleman is the last senior that the retirement home staff reported has been suffering from insomnia," Kyubi replied, "Now all we have to do is inform the staff that all of the seniors are now getting sleep, then the job will be done."

"Now that the seniors are having sweet dreams, I'm in the mood for something sweet," Sandi remarked, "Where did you say we can get some candied apples from again?"

With a mildly amused smile on his face, Atticus replied, "There's a candy shop in Blossom Heights. They sell candied apples there, along with a variety of various other candies."

"Ooh," Sandi said in an eager tone as she rubbed her hands together, "Sounds like my kind of place! Let's get going already!"

"We have to inform the staff here that we finished the job first," Atticus pointed out.

"I'll go find that yo-kai sensitive nurse and let her know right away!" Sandi said as she floated out of the room in something of a rush. After Sandi disappeared, Atticus looked at the yo-kai medal for Sandi that he had in his hand. The thirteen-year-old boy let out an amused chuckle.

"…She's going to be fun to work with," Atticus remarked.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER EIGHT

Author's notes:

There's chapter eight done and over with. When this chapter first came out, Psychic Specters was only a few days away from coming out in the states. I figured that this would be something of a nice little treat that people who read this story would be able to enjoy, hopefully holding them over until Psychic Specters comes out.

As a side note, during my research for this chapter, I discovered that neither of Bear's parents have names. Likewise, neither of Eddie's parents have names, either. Therefore, I'm taking the liberty of giving them names, starting with Eddie's mom and Bear's mom. I haven't yet thought of names for their respective dads, though.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter nine: A summer film festival

One day somewhere in Springdale, Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl who befriends yo-kai, was making her way over to the front door of a relatively large two-story brick house. Following along behind Kira were some of her yo-kai friends. Although she was, as per usual, accompanied by her three main yo-kai friends Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, Kira also brought along a fourth yo-kai friend, this being Swelterrier.

"Why are we here again, Kira?" Illuminoct asked.

"A girl who I know lives here, boys," Kira began, "And according to the girl, her mother has been displaying a rather authoritative and demanding attitude as of late, which from what I've been told is out of character for the girl's mother."

"Is the girl or her mother yo-kai sensitive?" Venoct asked, "Also, what's this girl's name?"

"The girl's name is Amy," Kira replied, "And before anyone says anything else, yes, both Amy and her mother are yo-kai sensitive. However, that will not prevent a yo-kai from hiding in their house, as it can simply cloak its presence."

"How does this Amy girl even know a yo-kai is responsible for how her mother's acting?" Shadow Venoct asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Amy told me that the last time she saw her mother get particularly riled up, she saw a purplish aura emanate from her mother," Kira explained, "It was brief, about only a second." Crossing her own arms over her chest, Kira said with a nod, "But it was enough for Amy to see. After she told me about it, it's obvious that her mother is being inspirited."

"Won't Amy's mom get snappy and make us leave before we can do our job?" Venoct asked.

"We'll do what Illuminoct does when Darkyubi tells him to stop acting dumb," Kira replied as she reached the front step, "Ignore it."

"One more question, Kira," Illuminoct began. Pointing to Swelterrier, Illuminoct asked, "Why did we bring him along?"

"He's new to our posse, so he needs experience," Kira said, "Likewise, I'll be taking the other yo-kai I've befriended out on jobs as well, to help them get used to how we do things."

"Umm, yeah," Shadow Venoct said, "I don't think it's necessary to bring Sergeant Burly along on any jobs anytime soon."

After a brief chuckle that sounded of self-amusement, Kira turned to face the front door and knocked on it a few times. When the door opened, Kira and her yo-kai friends were greeted by the sight of girl that looked to be about the same age as Kira. This girl had fair skin, brown eyes and brown hair in two pigtails. She wore a sailor fuku that had a blue neck, a skirt of the same color, and was currently wearing a pair of socks that reached her knees.

"About time you got here, Kira," the girl greeted. Leaning to her side, the girl saw Kira's yo-kai posse. "…Are they here to help?" the girl asked Kira.

Nodding in the affirmative, Kira said, "Yeah, these are some of the boys that I roll with, Amy. From left to right their names are Venoct, Shadow Venoct, Illuminoct and Swelterrier."

With a bit of a giggle that sounded cute, Amy said, "Swelterrier looks adorable."

"So, are we just going to stand around here and shoot the breeze," Venoct said, "Or are we going to get to work around here?"

Gesturing for Kira and the yo-kai to enter the house, Amy said, "Please, right this way, everyone. You'll find my mom in the kitchen right now, preparing some food."

"I hope this won't end in tears," Shadow Venoct remarked to himself as he, his brothers and Swelterrier followed Kira and Amy into the large two-story brick house. After a few seconds, Kira, Amy and the yo-kai saw Amy's mom at the counter in the kitchen. Her back was turned to them, so the women with a hostile attitude didn't see the visitors.

Acting immediately, Kira popped up the lens of her Yo-kai Watch and scanned around the area that Amy's mom stood in. As Kira did this, Amy's mom turned around as saw that Kira and her yo-kai friends were standing there. "Who are you and what are you doing here?!" Amy's mom demanded in a rather angry, authoritative tone, "I never told Amy that she could be bringing any guests over!"

"Then what about _that_ guest, ma'am?" Kira replied as she just finished uncloaking a yo-kai that was actively trying to cloak its presence. Curious, Amy's mom turned to see where Kira was pointing to, and when she did, she screamed in alarm; standing about several feet away was a large, blob-like yo-kai that was purple in color, had a slightly lighter splat of purple on its head (the splat sort of looked like the yo-kai's hair), wore a purple hairband, and had short little arms. Judging by the eyelashes and what looked to be lipstick, Kira assumed that this yo-kai was a girl.

"Oh mah, dis certainly will not do, dahling," the blob-like yo-kai remarked in a mildly worried tone upon being discovered.

"What in the name of Gilgamesh is that thing?!" Amy's mom exclaimed as she pointed at the revealed yo-kai.

"It's a yo-kai called Dismarelda," Kira replied as she recognized the yo-kai, "Her mere presence can really bring down the mood of whatever area she's in. Those affected by Dismarelda's power tend to be rather argumentative, simply because she's nearby."

"So, she's the reason why my mom's been acting like a tyrant!" Amy declared as she pointed dramatically at Dismarelda.

"Quick, someone use Psychic on her!" Illuminoct exclaimed as he pointed at Dismarelda.

"Psychic?" Kira repeated in a confused tone.

"Or would you rather use Earthquake?" Illuminoct remarked as he turned to face his human friend, "Either way, it'd be super-effective."

Scoffing in an annoyed tone, Kira said, "We don't really have time for any of your patented stupidity, Illuminoct." Turning around to face Dismarelda, Kira pointed at the blob-like yo-kai and said, "Alright, Dismarelda, you're going down now! Swelterrier, I choose you!"

At that prompting, Swelterrier ran up to stand in front of Kira, turned so that he was facing Dismarelda. "Swelterrier!" the fire dog yo-kai exclaimed.

"Use Incinerate!" Kira ordered.

"Terrier!" Swelterrier exclaimed as he threw an elemental fire technique at Dismarelda, striking her right in the face and defeating her in one go. After she was defeated, Dismarelda poofed away in a swirling cloud of purple smoke.

After Dismarelda was gone, a shocked look appeared over Amy's mom's face. Noticing this, Venoct said, "Yeah, with Dismarelda gone, her influence on Amy's mom will be wearing off."

"Well I do feel a bit calmer now," Amy's mom remarked, "Not to mention relieved now that some giant terrifying-looking blob monster is no longer in my house." With an unsure look on her face, Amy's mom said, "Did…did that thing really make me act like a tyrant?"

"Sorry to say it, but it's true, ma'am," Kira remarked as she and the others all turned to face Amy's mom.

"Aww geez," Amy's mom said in a mildly ashamed tone, "I can't believe it. Amy, I'm really sorry about any crud that I gave you while that…that thing…was making me act differently."

"It's okay, mom," Amy replied in a reassuring tone, "You couldn't help it."

"Yeah, there's no need to sweat it too much," Kira agreed with a nod.

"Well anywho, I just about got lunch finished," Amy's mom said. To Kira and her yo-kai friends, Amy's mom said, "Would you all like to stay for lunch?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kira replied as Amy's mom gestured for everyone to come sit at the dining table so they could all eat.

* * *

Later, the Venoct brothers were hanging out in the living room of the house where Kira and her Grandma Sophia live. As Shadow Venoct read a magazine of some sort while Venoct and Illuminoct watched TV, Kira came walking through the front door with Swelterrier following her. "Boys, we got us another job!" Kira announced as she entered the living room. The Venoct brothers all turned to face their human friend upon hearing her announcement.

"So soon after that kerfuffle with Amy, Amy's mom and Dismarelda?" Illuminoct asked, "I mean, don't get me wrong, work is good because it means we get paid. It's just that we finished helping out Amy earlier today."

"And it's Amy again who needs our help," Kira replied, "You see, here's the thing. Amy belongs to a group of friends that consists of herself and three other girls."

"Aren't you one of those girls?" Shadow Venoct asked, arching an eyebrow.

Gently shaking her head, Kira said, "No, we aren't technically friends, although it's safe to say that Amy and I are on agreeable terms with each other."

"So, who are these three friends of Amy's?" Illuminoct asked.

"One of Amy's friends looks like one of those stereotypical pretty popular girls, although this first friends lacks the vanity and stuck-up attitude that most girls like that are known to have," Kira began, "The second girl that Amy is friends with dresses like a stereotypical goth but acts all happy and perky and stuff, and the third girl that Amy is friends with is what most would consider a normal middle school girl that the boys think has above average looks." With a nod, Kira continued, "It's that third friend that Amy talked to me about."

"What about her?" Venoct asked.

"That particular friend of Amy's is something of an amateur film maker," Kira explained, "Remember back when Katie, Alex and Shelly filmed Atticus and the Kyubi brothers in action, and how Bear filmed the lot of us helping Nate out that one time? Yeah, Amy's third friend does stuff like that, but a heck of a lot more often. She even has costumes, props, and writes out scrips for her movies."

"And how does this involve the lot of us?" Illuminoct asked as he gestured to himself, his brothers, Kira and Swelterrier.

"Amy's film-making friend wants us to act in the latest film she's trying to make," Swelterrier said, "She said that she's got a special video camera that can record audio and visual of yo-kai, so there's no need to worry!"

"Amy's friend says that she's short a couple of actors," Kira pointed out. Gesturing to herself and her four yo-kai friends, Kira added, "But she said that the five of us will be able to fill out the cast. What do you boys say?"

"You know, I've always fancied myself as something of a thespian," Venoct said in a mildly self-amused tone as he and his brothers got up and walked over to Kira and Swelterrier, "I can't speak for my brothers, but you can count me in."

"I'll give it a whirl as well," Shadow Venoct said as he pledged his services to helping with the film-making, "At least Amy's friends asked us first, rather than film us without us knowing about it until it was sprung on us." With a mildly annoyed scoff, Shadow Venoct added, "I wish that Bear told us about what he was doing."

"Will I get a beret to wear?" Illuminoct asked.

"I'm pretty sure I saw a beret among the costumes and costume parts that Amy's friend has," Kira replied.

"Then in that case, I'm in," Illuminoct said as he saluted Kira.

Clapping her hands together, Kira said, "Well alright! Let's go tell Amy and her film-making friend the good news!"

* * *

Later on, Kira, the Venoct brothers and Swelterrier were standing in Amy's living room with Amy herself and her three friends that Kira mentioned. Gesturing to the pretty popular girl, the goth girl and the girl holding a video camera in that order, Amy said, "For those who don't know, these are my friends Jane, Meg and Tomoyo."

"Hey," Meg said as she pointed to Swelterrier, "This yo-kai here is pretty adorable." Focusing on the fire dog yo-kai, Meg asked, "What's your name?"

"My name is Swelterrier," the fire dog yo-kai said to the goth girl, "And I'm here to help with the film thingy that Kira told me about!"

"Well luckily for us, I got a new video camera model that can record audio and visual for yo-kai," Tomoyo remarked as she held up her video camera. Giving the device a gentle pat on its side, Tomoyo said to Kira and her yo-kai friends, "I hope that the five of you are ready to star in your first ever film!"

"The Venoct brothers and I were already in one, but this will be Swelterrier's first," Kira replied.

Kira's response drew a slight giggle out of the amateur filmmaker. "Well then," Tomoyo remarked, "If that's the case, then I'm glad I'm working with experienced actors!"

"Hey, what's kind of movie is this going to be anyway?" Venoct asked, "Some revamp of an old fairy tale? A kind of holiday special that you're going to show during the appropriate holiday? A public service announcement-type film that warns of the dangers of some dangerous thing or another? Some sort of attempt at a romantic comedy?"

"It's going to be a mystery were a crime has to be solved before an innocent person accused of the crime goes to jail," Jane explained, "Although if Tomoyo's film were going to be a romance of some kind, you can bet your bottom yen that I'd be the female lead. As for my love interest in that film, I'd try to convince Tomoyo into recruiting Alphonse for that role."

"You know, I still can't fathom how a girl like you, regarded as one of the prettiest and most popular at school, could have a crush on a geeky-looking guy like Alphonse," Amy remarked.

"He has a certain charm," Jane replied, "What can I say?"

"I think we're getting off subject here," Meg pointed out, "Don't we have another one of Tomoyo's films to act in?"

"Yes, yes," Tomoyo said in a tone of agreement, "We got a film to make! Amy, would you be so kind as to hand out the scripts? Also, I'm going to need Jane, Meg, Kira, and Kira's blonde yo-kai friend to get into their costumes."

"Wait a minute," Kira interrupted, "We're doing the filming here at Amy's place?"

"A few of the scenes, yes," Tomoyo began to explain with a nod, "Mostly in the room that I temporarily repurposed as the scene of the crime, and in the other room that I temporarily repurposed as the detective's office."

After hearing Tomoyo's explanation, Venoct turned to face Amy. "And you are comfortable with letting your friend do this?" the S-rank yo-kai asked Amy.

With an indifferent shrug, Amy replied, "Meh, she's done it at the houses of all of the humans here minus Kira. At this point, I've learned to just roll with the punches."

Turning to face Kira, Venoct asked with a mildly unamused expression, "We're going to get paid for this job, right?"

* * *

In the room where a crime scene set had been set up, Tomoyo was filming as Kira, Illuminoct, Jane and Meg were all in their costumes and acting out the scene that was being worked on at the moment. Kira and Illuminoct were dressed as private detectives, Meg was dressed as someone who one would suspect works as a curator at a museum, and Jane was dressed as a high society woman; it was clear that the character that Jane was playing is supposed to be very wealthy.

Laying on the floor in the room was a garden gnome statue that had been broken in half, then both halves were painted with golden paint. "So, Lady Pennyworth," Kira said as she pointed to Jane, "You are the one who owned the golden gnome statue, and were planning on letting the local art museum display it temporarily."

"That is correct, detective," Jane replied with a nod.

Pointing to Meg, Kira continued, "And you are the head curator of the museum that was expected to receive Lady Pennyworth's statue, yes?"

"Right," Meg replied.

Turing to face Illuminoct, Kira said as she handed him a sandwich sized plastic bag that held a small prop, "Okay Tony, you go and take this back to the office. Don't lose it, as it's important evidence in this case."

"Got it, Chief," Illuminoct replied as he quickly saluted Kira before taking the prop and walking out of the scene. After Illuminoct was off set, Kira turned to face Jane and Meg again.

"Now then, Lady Pennyworth," Kira said to Jane, "Can you tell me of anyone who you could possibly think of would have any reason to break the golden gnome statue? Or any of the other works of art that your family has collected over the generations?"

"What do you mean, detective?" Jane asked, pulling off a really convincing shocked expression.

Putting her hands on her hips, Kira explained, "Your family is by far the wealthiest living in this city, and it's been that way for at least the past four generations. No doubt that your family name has collected a number of enemies over that time. Enemies who are jealous of your wealth, or maybe someone who was cheated by your family, or at least feels that they were cheated." Giving her best suspicious look to Jane, Kira said, "No family that has been that wealthy for that long has a spotless record. Call me a cynic, but I've never seen or heard of an example that goes against the grain in that regard."

With a mildly resigned expression, Jane said, "Well, now that you mention it, my mother told me this story about something my great-grandfather did. My mother married into the family, so family members who were born into the family told me to disregard that story my mother told me." Gesturing to where the broken garden gnome laid, Jane said, "But in light of this crime, I guess that you should hear my mother's story. Or at least, what I remember of it. My mother died of an ailment of some kind back before I reached adulthood, so she can't tell you herself."

"And cut!" Tomoyo said right after pausing her camera's filming, "Good job, everyone!"

"Where did you get a garden gnome and the pain you used to paint it gold from?" Kira asked as she pointed to the prop that laid on the floor.

"Oh, I had to buy a few jars of gold paint from the hobby store in town," Tomoyo explained, "As for the garden gnome, I borrowed it from someone."

"Are they aware of the fact that their garden gnome is broken?" Kira asked.

"And now we'll move over to Jane's house to film the flashback scene for the Lady Pennyworth character," Tomoyo replied as she turned around and walked out of the room.

* * *

Later, after Kira, her yo-kai friends, Amy and her three friends finished the flashback scene that was filmed over at Jane's house, everyone took a break. "It's like I've been saying this whole time," Illuminoct said after taking a sip from a can of Soul Tea, "If you want to make sure that something will work, you've got to-"

The blonde-haired Venoct brother was cut off by a knocking at the front door. "Ooh, that must be Alphonse," Jane said with a hint of excitement in her tone as she got up, "I left a letter in his family's mailbox telling him to come over!"

"I still don't get why you have a crush on such a nerdy guy," Amy remarked before taking a sip from a can of soda that she was drinking, a bored expression on her face.

"Stuff it," Jane retorted as she walked over to the front door of her family's house and opened it. Rather than see a human, Jane saw a humanoid yo-kai sitting in a floating director's chair. The yo-kai had pale bluish skin, curly pink hair, and wore glasses, a yellow scarf, a dark bluish long-sleeved shirt, a pair of khakis, and brown shoes. He also held a director's megaphone.

"So, I finally meet the up and coming human filmmaker Tomoyo," the yo-kai said in a tone that showed he was expecting something more out of Jane, "I have to say, I'm rather disappointed that the human who many in the yo-kai world say can steal my thunder as the most popular filmmaker in the yo-kai world lacks…pizzazz." Shaking his head gently, the yo-kai continued, "Very disappointed."

"I'm not Tomoyo," Jane replied with a mildly confused look on her face, "I'm her friend Jane."

"Then bring me the human known as Tomoyo at once!" the yo-kai nearly exclaimed in a demanding tone as he pointed his director's megaphone right in Jane's face, "I am not one that it would be wise to keep waiting!"

"Hey Tomoyo," Jane called out as she turned back into her family's house, "Some weirdo in a floating director's chair is demanding to see you."

"You want I should sic Swelterrier on him?" Illuminoct called back from where he sat in the living room with everyone else.

"Hold your horses, there's no need for that messy business," Tomoyo replied as she got up, "I'll go see who it is." Walking over to the front door, Tomoyo came face-to-face with the yo-kai that was demanding to see her. Giving the yo-kai a confused look, Tomoyo said, "I'm Tomoyo. Who the heck are-"

"I challenge you to a filmmaking contest!" the yo-kai declared as he pointed his director's megaphone right in Tomoyo's face, "No one can show up I, Directator! The filmmaking legend of the yo-kai world!"

"Hold it, hold it, hold it," Venoct said as he and Kira came walking over, "Did I just hear that Directator is here?" Looking to the yo-kai that was challenging Tomoyo, Venoct sighed in a resigned, disgusted tone. "Oh great," Venoct sighed, "It really is Directator."

"Who?" Kira said in a confused tone as she faced her yo-kai friend.

"Directator here is a filmmaker who, due to his first ever film becoming successful, has become an egotistical glory hound who firmly believes that everything he does in infallible," Venoct explained to Kira while gesturing to Directator, "He may refuse to believe this, but his first film is pretty much his _only_ successful film."

"That is far from the truth, blasphemous philistine!" Directator exclaimed as he pointed his director's megaphone in Venoct's face, "The critics all always praise every one of my films!"

"Yeah, the critics all always do praise your films, I will give you that," Venoct began after Directator lowered his megaphone back down, "But they're pretty much the only folks who do that. Everyone in the yo-kai world who is _not_ a film critic thinks your films are terrible. Every one of your films other than your first film became box office bombs. The careers of several prominent yo-kai world actors were decimated beyond any hope of recovery because they were consistently roped into acting in your films."

"Sigh," Directator said, actually saying the word 'sigh' rather than actually sighing, "The uncultured masses of the yo-kai world are lost when it comes to appreciating true cinema art. It's rather tragic, if you think about it."

"The fact that any of your films other than your first one managed to win any movie awards at all is rather tragic, if you think about it," Venoct retorted.

"You know not of true cinema art!" Directator exclaimed as he once again pointed his director's megaphone in Venoct's face.

"Get that thing out of my face and keep it that way or else I will not be held accountable for what Illuminoct does to you when I let him do with you as he sees fit," Venoct said, an angry, annoyed look on his face.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, hold up there," Kira interrupted, "Let's not resort to violence here. We aren't animals."

"At least one person around here has some degree of culture in them," Directator remarked, "But enough dilly-dallying. I am here to challenge the human known as Tomoyo to a filmmaking contest, to determine once and for all who is the better filmmaker in the yo-kai world! And mark my words, I will not be going down easily!"

"Hold on there a minute," Tomoyo said, a mildly surprised look on her face, "I'm a popular filmmaker in the yo-kai world? How? None of the films I've made were ever shown down there! Heck, I've never been there myself! Can humans even go to the yo-kai world?"

"Oh yeah, humans can, in fact, go to the yo-kai world," Kira said, "In fact, the Venoct brothers and I have been there multiple times."

"Although that does not quite explain how Tomoyo's films made it big down there," Venoct remarked, "Or at least bigger than most of Directator's works."

"That's something that we can figure out for ourselves later," Tomoyo replied to the S-rank yo-kai, "For now, we've got to take care of this bozo's challenge, because I seriously doubt that he'll go away unless I agree to accept his challenge to see who the best filmmaker between the two of us is."

"You are wrong about me being a bozo, but right that I won't take no for an answer to my challenge," Directator said, a smug smile of satisfaction on his face.

"You…you do realize that my brothers and I can always just kick Directator's butt and make him leave by force," Venoct pointed out to Tomoyo, "Right?"

"I shall be seeing you this Friday evening with my latest film completed, miss Tomoyo!" Directator declared, "I hope for your sake that you have a film that can match it! Otherwise you will be laughed out of the cinema by the critics!" And with that, Directator poofed away in a swirling cloud of purple smoke.

After everyone stared in silence at the spot where Directator floated, Venoct turned to face Tomoyo. "…I'm serious about that offer," the S-rank yo-kai said to the human girl, "In fact, I bet that I can get my brothers to agree to kick Directator's butt for you pro bono."

"Girls, we've got to work overtime if we have any hope of showing up that pompous doofus," Tomoyo said to Kira and Jane, "Tell Amy and Meg that we're getting right back to work on the film right away!"

As everyone went back inside of Jane's house to continue with making Tomoyo's film, Venoct commented, "Just so you know, Tomoyo, my offer will stay on the table."

* * *

That Friday evening, Kira, the Venoct brothers, Swelterrier, Amy and Amy's three friends were all in a movie theater in the yo-kai world. "Wow," Amy remarked as she looked around the movie theater, which looked vastly different than movie theaters in the human world, "So this is what it's like in the yo-kai world."

"Long tahm no see, dahling," a familiar female voice with an accent said, prompting Amy and everyone else to turn and see Dismarelda standing there. "You know, dahling, it was rather rude how you kicked me out like dat," Dismarelda remarked.

"Even though you would have undoubtedly refused to leave peacefully?" Amy retorted in an annoyed tone, "And don't even try to say anything to argue with me. I know your type, giant purple slime monster, and yours is the type that flat out refuses to take a hint, regardless of how big of a hint it is."

"Dahling, you are too quick to judge," Dismarelda began, "If you had bothered to-" Dismarelda was cut off when Swelterrier started growling angrily at her as an angry dog would. Tensing up out of nervousness, Dismarelda turned around and proceeded to make her way further down into the theater as she tried to find a seat.

"Well that was quick," Illuminoct remarked, shooting Swelterrier a thumbs-up.

"Come on, everyone," Kira said, "We've got to find our seats. The films are about to start." Understanding the cue, everyone proceeded to find seats and sit down. Shortly after everyone in the group was seated, a Swelton walked onto the stage that was in front of the movie screen.

"Thank you all for coming," Swelton began, "Tonight, we in the yo-kai world movie industry will be showing two films for your viewing pleasure. Each film is by a different movie-making legend, Directator the genius film director yo-kai, and Tomoyo the human!" The audience, which consisted mostly of yo-kai, cheered in excitement, with many cheers of Tomoyo's name being heard all over.

"And now," Swelton said, "Without further ado, we'll begin the film showing with Directator's latest film, which was just finished earlier this week!"

…

After both films had been shown, the lights in the theater turned back on, and Swelton got back on stage. "And now, we will be hearing from our panel of five judges, approved by the theater as critics for the two films that were just shown here," Swelton said as he gestured to a long table that sat in front of the stage. Looking down from where she sat, Kira saw that one of the judges was a Ben Tover. To Kira's shock, the other four judges were the Kyubi brothers and Atticus.

"What the heck are they doing as judges?" Kira remarked to herself in a suspicious tone.

"As always," Ben Tover began, "Directator's genius shines through in his work. I have to say that his film is without a doubt the better of the two."

"That's where I'm going to have to disagree," said Frostail, who sat on Ben Tover's left, "I could not follow anything in Directator's film at all. The scenes were all either far too bland or far too overstimulating to the eye, the actors seemed to lack passion for the work they were doing, and as far as I could tell, there wasn't even an actual plot."

"The opposite of everything that my brother just said about Directator's film can be applied to that Tomoyo girl's film," Darkyubi, who sat on Frostail's left, remarked, "The scenes were as good as they could get considering the fact that Tomoyo was working with a far more limited budget than her opponent in this little contest, the actors all seemed to love what they were doing, and I was able to follow the film's mystery-type plot with very little difficulty, if any."

"If that film of Tomoyo's is an example of all of her films that have been showed here in the yo-kai world, then I may very well want to see all of them," Kyubi, who sat on Darkyubi's left, said, "I can see how a human girl of her young age has become such a popular filmmaker here."

"Despite the fact that I just learned that my grandaunt apparently won't be getting her garden gnome back, I believe that Tomoyo's film is one of the finest works of film that I have ever seen," Atticus remarked, "Although both directors clearly have passion for their work, I think that only Tomoyo knows what the heck she's doing. Furthermore, I could tell from how the actors in both films acted that, unlike Directator, Tomoyo actually cares about the folks who act in her films."

"There's the judgements from the critics, folks," Swelton said to the audience, "Anyway, once you all leave the theater room, be sure to stop by the lobby and fill out a ballet to vote on which film you thought was the best. The results of the vote will be posted all over yo-kai world news outlets tis Monday!"

After everyone began to file out of the theater room, Kira and the rest of her group met up with Atticus and the Kyubi brothers down where they sat. "What are the four of you up to," Kira began, "Getting yourselves made to be critics for this film showing? What are you playing at?"

"Nothing, really," Atticus explained, "After the yo-kai world found out that it was the Kyubi brothers and I who dealt with the Tarantutor a while ago, we gained something of a minor celebrity status around these parts. So much so that we were brought in to serve as critics for this film showing."

"Also, as it turns out, the usual critics who review Directator's films all have a hive mind way of thinking that's led by an old friend of Directator's," Kyubi added, "That leads me to believe that a lot of the positive reviews that most of Directator's films got are biased."

"Well _that_ certainly explains a lot," Venoct remarked, sounding very much like his beliefs have just been justified.

"Well alright, boys!" Kira said to Atticus and the Kyubi brothers, "Glad to see that you lot have confidence in Tomoyo's chances as a filmmaker!"

"She's better than Directator, I'll give her that," Atticus replied, "And speaking of Tomoyo…" Turning to face Tomoyo, Atticus said in a cool yet neutral tone, "When would be a good time for us to begin discussions on how you're going to replace my grandaunt's garden gnome?"

* * *

The following Monday morning, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct were sitting at the table in the dining area of Kira and her grandma's house in Uptown Springdale. Walking down from the second floor was Kira, who had an amused grin on her face. "Hey boys, guess what?" Kira began, "I just learned who won the film contest between Directator and Tomoyo."

"It was Tomoyo, right?" Venoct replied, drawing a nod in the affirmative from his human friend. When Kira confirmed Tomoyo's victory, the Venoct brothers all cheered. "Well I for one am glad that Tomoyo beat that pompous oaf at his own game," Venoct said, "Directator could do with a serving or two of humble pie if you ask me."

"I prefer pumpkin pie," Illuminoct remarked, "Although I never even heard of humble pie. Does it taste good?"

"Although there is an actual pie that's called humble pie, I was actually using an euphanism," Venoct explained to his blonde-haired brother, "Directator had allowed his reputation, fueled by apparently biased reviews from all of the usual yo-kai world film critics, to go to his head. He really needed to be brought back to reality."

"…Is it usually served with whipped cream?" Illuminoct asked.

Sighing, Venoct said, "I can name at least one other person who needs a dose of reality…"

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER NINE

Author's notes:

I would have gotten this chapter out a bit sooner, but I got distracted by Psychic Specters, which I got the day it was released here in the states. I was originally going to make this chapter about a fashion show, since clothes designing is Amy's dream, but I switched to making it about amateur filmmaking, partly because the Directator quests in Psychic Specters caught my attention, but mostly because I could not for the life of me think up enough stuff for a chapter that was themed around fashion and fashion design. Anywho, I'll be working on the tenth chapter of this story in between my various other obligations, such as classes, video games, and my other writings.

As a side note, I would like to apologize, but I _had_ to address how Dismarelda pretty much got away with messing with Amy and Amy's family. I just couldn't let that stand. Some form of reprimand had to be dealt to Dismarelda, otherwise it would continue to bother me.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter ten: That girl from class one!

One fine enough day in Uptown Springdale, various kids who attend Springdale Elementary were in their school's gym, even though they were on summer break. The reason for this is because Joe Johnson, or Mr. Johnson as he is better known, the homeroom teacher of most of the kids in the gym, is organizing a school play that will be performed on the stage in the gym sometime later in the week.

Mr. Johnson wasn't alone in trying to get everything organized either; helping the teacher with trying to get everything organized was Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl who lives in the Uptown Springdale area. Kira has something of a reputation with helping out here and there due to the fact that she is one of two people who befriends yo-kai. In fact, three of Kira's yo-kai friends, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, were with Kira, assisting her with assisting Joe.

"Tell me, teach," Kira said in a casual tone to Mr. Johnson, "What play are you going to get your students to act in?"

"Oh," Mr. Johnson began with a mildly amused look on his face, "The play that's going to be put on this Friday will be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"I thought that was a book," Venoct said in a mildly confused tone as he shrugged.

"It is," Mr. Johnson replied as he acknowledged the S-rank yo-kai, "And one of my all-time favorite books to boot. This is going to be a school play adaption of that book."

"Are you going to hold auditions to see who gets what role?" Kira asked.

"I already assigned all of the roles in the play," Mr. Johnson said as he handed the clipboard that he was holding over to Kira, as the clipboard held the cast list for the play. The instant that she began to go over the cast list, Kira's expression changed to show how she was having trouble comprehending what she was reading at the moment.

"Why do you have Nate slated to play the role of Augustus Gloop?" Kira asked.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Johnson replied, confused by the nature of Kira's question.

"You have Nate playing the role of Augustus Gloop," Kira said as she began to explain her reasoning, "Nate, who is proportionately the thinnest boy in Springdale Elementary School, is playing the fat kid in your Charlie and the Chocolate Factory play." With a confused look on her face, Kira said, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Wait a minute, let me see that," Illuminoct said, a mild look of suspicion on his face, as he took the clipboard from Kira to read it. After scanning the cast list on the clipboard, Illuminoct turned to face Mr. Johnson and said, "Why do you have Alex playing the role of Mike Teavee?"

"How is that a problem?" Mr. Johnson asked.

"Alex is a girl," Illuminoct pointed out, "And yet you have her playing a boy character."

With a look of mild surprise on his face, Mr. Johnson said, "Alex is a girl?"

Facepalming, Kira said, "Mr. Johnson, dude, how can you not tell that Alex is a girl?"

"At least Mr. Johnson _somewhat_ got it right in casting Katie as Veruca Salt and Lulu as Violet Beauregarde, if only because they're both girls," Illuminoct said as he gave the casting list a slight smack with the back of his right hand. Turning to face Mr. Johnson, Illuminoct continued, "But how in the name of Odin did you get Mr. Barton to play one of the Oompa-Loompas?"

"He got another teacher to play one of the roles in this play?" Venoct said, looking surprised.

"Clint is just as much of a fan of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as I am," Mr. Johnson explained, "So when I told him that some of my students may not be able to participate thus leaving me short a few actors, he volunteered to act in the play."

Turning her head to the side, Kira saw Mr. Barton, the bishounen science teacher of Springdale Elementary School, talking with some of the students. Turning back to face Mr. Johnson, Kira said, "At least he's dedicated to the art of theater."

"Indeed, he is," Mr. Johnson said while nodding in agreement, "But if you want to see dedication to acting, then you should have been there when Bear auditioned for the role of Willy Wonka."

"Bear actually auditioned for a role?" Shadow Venoct replied in a confused tone, "I thought that none of the actors in the play auditioned for the roles that they got because you apparently gave the roles out at random."

"That would certainly explain this hot mess," Illuminoct remarked as he gave the casting list on the clipboard another light smack with the back of his right hand.

"Like Clint and myself, Bear really enjoys the book that the play is based off of," Mr. Johnson explained, "So when he told me he wanted to try out for the role of Willy Wonka, I decided to let him give it the old college try." Letting out an impressed-sounding whistle, Mr. Johnson said, "I swear, Bear is going to be one of the main actors that will be carrying this-"

"Mr. Johnson!" one of the male students called out, "Lucas and I need help carrying out one of the set pieces!"

"I'll be there in a sec, Andy!" Mr. Johnson called back. Turning to face Kira and the Venoct brothers, Mr. Johnson said, "Duty calls, I'm afraid. Can the four of you hold down the fort here while I'm helping my students?"

"Sure thing, Mr. J," Kira replied with a salute that was half-respectful and half-playfully joking around. Nodding once in thanks, Mr. Johnson proceeded to go help some of his students.

A few seconds after Mr. Johnson took off, Kira and the Venoct brothers heard one of the female students call out to them. Turning around to see who it was, Kira and the Venoct brothers were met up by Maya, Megan and Sarah. It was Maya who had called out.

"How may we be of service, girls?" Kira asked the three younger girls as they finished making their way over to her and the Venoct brothers.

"You're familiar with Eddie Archer, right?" Maya began.

"He's the short kid who wears headphones and hangs out with Nate and Bear all the time," Kira replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Yeah, I know who Eddie is."

"Fun fact," Illuminoct said as he looked at the clipboard he was holding, "Eddie is going to be playing the role of Charlie Bucket in the play."

Regarding the three girls who came up to her, Kira asked, "Why are you girls asking about Eddie? Do any of you have a crush on him or something?"

"No, neither of the girls or I have a crush on Eddie, although he's still a nice guy," Sarah replied with a gentle shake of her head in the negative.

Putting her hands on her hips, Kira asked, "Then why are you girls asking about him?"

"We think that a yo-kai is messing with him," Maya replied in something of a business-like tone, "Seeing as how you and your yo-kai entourage are known to solve yo-kai related problems for people, the girls and I would like for you to look into this matter for us."

"You think a yo-kai is messing with Eddie?" Kira asked, "As in, Eddie is being inspirited?" Giving the fashionable fifth grade girl a curious look, Kira continued, "What makes you say that Eddie is being inspirited by a yo-kai?"

"For the last few weeks," Maya began, "Eddie has been seen talking to this one girl who goes to this school. From what I've been told by those who've witnessed Eddie and that girl spending time together, the two have some sort of lovey-dovey relationship going on."

"Eddie's relationship with that girl is the kind of relationship that Katie wants to have with Nate," Sarah stated, holding up her right index finger in a gesture to convey that she was trying to point out some sort of fact.

"So, Eddie's got himself a girlfriend," Kira replied, "It's kind of cute, but I don't see why you girls think this is why Eddie's being inspirited by a yo-kai."

"Here's the thing," Maya remarked, "This girl that Eddie's spending time with is, like, a total loser. She's one of those overly excitable nerdy fangirls. Not to mention the fact that she has zero fashion sense." Shaking her head slightly, Maya said, "No boy in his right mind would willingly like spending time with a girl like that. Therefore, a yo-kai must be messing with Eddie, making him like that super geek."

"Are there any yo-kai who can make someone have a crush on someone else?" Megan asked.

With a look of consideration on her face, Kira looked up slightly as she thought about it. "There are actually a few yo-kai like that who come to mind for me," Kira replied after a few seconds of thought, "Although I kind of get the feeling that there aren't any yo-kai making Eddie like the girl that you girls are complaining about."

"Look, do you want to take the job of investigating this matter or not?" Maya asked.

With a shrug, Kira said, "Fine, I suppose that my posse and I will look into this matter for you."

"I don't think checking Eddie right now to see if a yo-kai is messing with him is a good idea, as he and a lot of the other students are busy with getting ready for the play," Megan remarked, "And Eddie and some of the other boys will be going over to Eddie's place later tonight for some sort of party."

"Then the Venoct brothers and I will head to that party," Kira stated.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if that's going to fly," Sarah said, "From what I heard when I overheard some boys talking about the party, it's going to be a boys-only affair. Although that girl that Eddie's been spending time with has been invited, which doesn't surprise me since it's Eddie who's hosting the party." With a mildly dumbfounded look on her face, Sarah added, "Also, for reasons that escape me, Alex has also been invited to Eddie's party."

"Maybe if you can catch Eddie while he's out," Maya began as she was trying to suggest something to Kira, "Then you can-"

"Hey Kira," Nate's voice called out, cutting Maya off and making all the girls turn to see Nate walk up to them.

"What's up, little dude?" Kira asked in a casual tone after Nate finished making his way over.

"Eddie's going to be having a party over at his place later tonight, and he wants to know if you're interested in coming," Nate replied, "He also said that you can bring up to three of the yo-kai that you are friends with if you want."

With her best deadpan look, Kira said, "Yeah, Nate. Go ahead and tell Eddie that the Venoct brothers and I will be able to come. What time?"

"A little after seven PM," Nate remarked, "You know where Eddie's place is, right?" After Kira nodded in the affirmative, Nate continued, "Great. I'll let Eddie know." With Kira's coming to the party confirmed, Nate turned around and went back to wherever he came from.

Turning back around to face the three girls who came up to her and the Venoct brothers, Kira said, "Well, that happened."

* * *

A little after seven that evening, Kira and the Venoct brothers were over at Eddie's place. The party was already a bit underway, and a few boys and Alex were already there. "So, there I was," Illuminoct, who was wearing a lampshade on his head, said as he was beginning to tell a story to Casey, Eric and Bear, "It was me versus six other yo-kai in an epic and awesome battle to determine who was the toughest around. Needless to say, I won that little battle, even with the lopsided numbers."

"Wow, you sound almost as scary as Bear's mom," Casey remarked to the blonde-haired yo-kai.

"Nope," Bear said to Casey in a casual tone, "He's nowhere near as scary as her." As Bear and the other two boys continued to listen to Illuminoct's stories, Kira, Venoct and Shadow Venoct watched from the side with Eddie and Nate.

"…Where did he get the lampshade that he's wearing on his head?" Eddie asked rhetorically in a mildly concerned tone as he pointed to Illuminoct.

"I don't know, but he thinks that lampshades are the official headwear of parties," Shadow Venoct replied with a shrug.

"You know, Eddie," Kira began as she turned to regard the host of the party, "I'm not seeing a lot of girls here aside from myself and Alex. Is this something of a boys-only shindig?"

"Mostly, yeah," Eddie replied, "Although one other girl is supposed to be here." Looking at the watch that he was wearing on his wrist, Eddie said with a mild hint of concern in his tone, "I hope that she didn't get-" Eddie was cut off when there was a knock at the front door.

"Oh, another party guest," Kira remarked as she walked over to the front door, "Allow me, boys." After reaching the front door, Kira grabbed the knob, turned it, then pulled the door open. When she did, Kira saw a girl roughly the same age as Eddie and his friends standing there.

The girl was fair-skinned and had short hair that was a sort-of purple color. She wore round glasses, a light blue shirt under a pale light pink cardigan, a white skirt that reached her knees, a pair of blue leggings under her skirt (the leggings ended an inch or so above her ankles), a pair of yellow shoes with white laces, and a pair of white ankle socks that were barely noticeable.

"Umm, excuse me," the girl began in a somewhat nervous tone, "But Eddie lives here, right?"

"Yo Eddie!" Kira called out as she turned her head to face back into the house, "There's a girl here at the front door asking for you!" Having heard Kira call out, Eddie came walking over somewhat quickly. When he saw the girl standing at the front door, Eddie's expression lightened up noticeably.

"Inaho!" Eddie said as he gestured for the mystery girl to enter, "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to make it or not!"

"You know this girl, dude?" Kira asked Eddie while pointing to the mystery girl.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that," Eddie said to the thirteen-year-old girl. Gesturing to the girl who just came to the party, Eddie continued, "Kira, this here is Inaho Misora. She goes to Springdale Elementary, same as me, Nate and Bear."

"Oh?" Kira replied in a knowing amused tone, "Is this that one girl you were trying to tell me about earlier, Eddie?" Nudging Eddie with her right elbow, Kira said in a playful tone, "I can certainly see why you'd want her to come to your party, little dude."

"Yeah," Eddie replied in a somewhat embarrassed tone, "Inaho and I have kind-of liked each other for a while now. Remember when I told you that story of how I climbed up the tallest pole at school because I was trying to impress a girl who came to watch that one soccer game?" Gesturing to Inaho, Eddie continued, "Yeah, Kira. Inaho is the girl that I was talking about."

"Huh, well I'll be," Kira said, "I had no idea this cute little crush between the two of you has been going on for that long."

"Oh, come on, please don't tease us like that," Eddie replied as he blushed in embarrassment.

"Hey Eddie," Inaho began as she gestured to Kira, "Is this that Kira girl you told me about?"

Nodding a bit in the affirmative, Eddie said to Inaho, "Yeah, this is Kira. My friends and I usually ask her to handle yo-kai related problems for us. She was the one who saved Nate from a vampire yo-kai."

"Yeesh, I remember that whole kerfuffle," Inaho remarked, her tone suggesting that she was remembering a rather unpleasant experience. Gently rubbing the side of her neck, Inaho continued, "I guess I should thank you for putting an end to that whole mess involving the vampire yo-kai."

"It was actually something of a team effort between me and some of my yo-kai friends," Kira replied, "In fact, some of them are here at the party."

"Ooh, can I meet them?" Inaho asked Kira in an excited tone.

"Yeah, Inaho here tries to learn pretty much anything she can about yo-kai," Eddie explained to the thirteen-year-old girl, "It's part of why I was hoping you'd bring some of your yo-kai friends along to the party."

"Yeah, I can see that," Kira replied as she turned around and faced the party. After calling out for the Venoct brothers to come over, Kira turned back around to face Eddie and Inaho. "Give them a second," Kira said to Eddie and Inaho. Soon enough, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct came over to where Kira, Eddie and Inaho were standing. Gesturing to her yo-kai friends, Kira said to Inaho, "These guys here are Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, three of my yo-kai friends. Please ignore the lampshade that Illuminoct is wearing on his head."

"So, you're the girl I hear the kids at your school saying made away with Eddie's heart," Venoct said as he pointed to Inaho. Giving the glasses-wearing girl a quick glance, Venoct said, "I hope that you'll be nice to Eddie. He's a good kid."

Giggling cutely a bit, Inaho replied, "Well Eddie is certainly nice to me, so yeah, I'll be returning the favor."

…

A bit into the party, Kira, the Venoct brothers, Eddie, Inaho and Alex were talking with each other. "So yeah, girl," Alex said to Inaho while holding a red plastic cup of soda, "Me and Eddie's homeroom teacher Mr. Johnson managed to get the science teacher Mr. Barton and two other teachers to play Oompa-Loompas."

"Hey Eddie," Inaho began as she turned to face Eddie, "Didn't you say that you got the role of Charlie Bucket?"

"Yeah, I did," Eddie replied with a nod in the affirmative.

"Well it's no surprise you got one of the main roles," Inaho remarked in a tone suggesting that she was trying to brag about Eddie to Kira and the others, "I mean, you're clearly one of the best actors in your class, if not _the_ best."

"I still have to go over some lines in a scene I have with Natalie and Matt," Eddie remarked, "They're playing the roles of Charlie's mom and dad respectively."

"Wow, Mr. Johnson actually managed to talk Matt into acting in the play?" Alex remarked in a mildly surprised tone, "About time Matt started doing something productive."

"Oh, come on, Alex, don't be mean," Eddie said as Alex took a sip from the cup of soda that she was drinking.

With a small but noticeable amount of drool on the side of her lower lip, Alex replied, "Matt is a *URP* big kid. H-he can handle a little t-teasing."

"So, Kira," Inaho began as she turned to face the thirteen-year-old girl, "Eddie said that you handle yo-kai related business for him and the other boys at school. How do you do it?"

"Well I bring along some of my yo-kai friends along for the ride," Kira started to explain. Holding up her left wrist to show her Yo-kai Watch, Kira continued, "I usually bring along the three Venoct brothers, but if I need to call in another one of my yo-kai friends, I can summon the yo-kai in question with my Yo-kai Watch here." Kira was amused to see how much attention that Inaho was paying to Kira's Yo-kai Watch.

"Wow, it can summon yo-kai?" Inaho asked, her tone clearly indicating that her full attention was on Kira, "What else can it do?"

Remembering the request that Maya, Megan and Sarah made earlier, Kira said, "When a yo-kai wants to keep others from seeing it, it can cloak its presence. The Yo-kai Watch can decloak the yo-kai that are trying to actively cloak their presence. Would you like to see me demonstrate that function, Inaho?"

"Do it!" Inaho said, a bit more excitement in her tone that she had originally intended.

Smiling in an amused manner due to Inaho's eagerness, Kira said, "Well okay then. Eddie, would you mind if I used you for the demonstration?"

"Be my guest," Eddie replied in the affirmative.

"Okay then," Kira said, "Now Inaho, if someone is being inspirited by a yo-kai, the yo-kai in question usually hides around the person they're inspiriting." Popping up the lens of her Yo-kai Watch, Kira began to scan the area around Eddie, the light from her Yo-kai Watch going over a wide area. As she had suspected back when she was commissioned to take the job, Kira did not find any cloaked yo-kai near Eddie. Likewise, there was no trace of inspiriting on Eddie.

"…Since the Yo-kai Watch didn't find anything, that means that there is no yo-kai inspiriting Eddie," Kira said to Inaho while facing Eddie. Wanting to cover all of her bases, Kira turned to face Inaho and said, "Hey Inaho, would you be okay with being volunteer number two for this little demonstration?"

"Totally!" Inaho replied, even more excited. Kira proceeded to scan Inaho and the area around her with her Yo-kai Watch. Just as it was with Eddie, there was no cloaked yo-kai anywhere near Inaho, and there was likewise no trace of inspiriting on the excitable girl.

"…Good news, Inaho," Kira said in a mildly dry monotone, "You are not being inspirited by any yo-kai, and there is likewise no yo-kai hiding around you."

"Well thank goodness for that," Inaho remarked, "The last time some yo-kai were hiding around me, they were messing with me really badly, even though I don't remember most of it. Those yo-kai were causing so much trouble that my little brother Riku had to hire this one guy who works with yo-kai to get rid of the yo-kai that were messing with me." Sighing in a resigned tone, Inaho added, "I wish I could have seen that guy's nine-tailed fox yo-kai friends in action. I bet that it would have been awesome."

"That sounds like Atticus and the Kyubi brothers to me," Kira said, making a mental note to talk to Atticus about what he did to help Inaho out later. With the business she was hoping to take care of at the party dealt with, Kira allowed herself to relax, along with actually enjoying the party. Kira even laughed when Illuminoct offered Inaho a lampshade to wear on her head, mostly due to the poor girl's confused reaction.

* * *

The following afternoon, Kira and the Venoct brothers met up with Maya, Sarah and Megan outside of the Everymart in Uptown Springdale. "It was as I suspected, girls," Kira said to her trio of clients, "No yo-kai was inspiriting Eddie, or hiding anywhere near him. Likewise, no yo-kai was inspiriting or hiding anywhere near Inaho." With a gentle shake of her head, Kira continued, "This means that, despite what you girls believe, Eddie genuinely likes Inaho."

"You…you have got to be kidding me," Megan replied, her shocked expression clearly showing that she was not expecting the report from Kira and the Venoct brothers that she got.

"Rest assured that Kira, my brothers and I did everything by the book," Venoct said to the fifth-grade girl, "We would have informed you and your friends about anything and everything that we found last night." With a gentle shake of his head, Venoct added, "We didn't find anything at all last night."

"That…that can't make any sense!" Maya nearly exclaimed, "How can Eddie, or any boy for that matter, like an overly excitable nerdy fangirl with the fashion sense of someone's grandma? The mere idea of that defies all conventional-"

Maya was cutoff mid-rant when the sound of someone crying as they ran away came from behind the girls, Kira and the Venoct brothers. Turning around, everyone saw Eddie standing there with a very disappointed look on his face; Inaho could be seen in the background behind Eddie, running away quickly.

"…Really?" Eddie said in an accusatory tone towards Maya, Megan and Sarah, "Are you girls really like that?"

"How…how long have you been standing there?" Sarah asked in a mildly worried tone.

"We got here around the time that Maya not only insulted Inaho, but myself as well," Eddie replied, his disappointed scowl persisting.

"Hey, the Venoct brothers and I aren't part of their little bandwagon," Kira said to Eddie as she pointed to the fifth-grade girls, "We believe that you and Inaho genuinely like each other. The girls here insisted that I check things out anyway."

"Is that why you scanned both of us at the party last night?" Eddie asked, arching an eyebrow as he regarded the thirteen-year-old girl.

"Hey, in our defense, the Venoct brothers and I were hired for a job," Kira replied, "And when we have a job to do, we handle it professionally. But if it makes you feel any better, I ended up confirming my suspicions that there was no yo-kai messing with either you or Inaho."

With a bemused look on his face, Eddie said, "Well, at least _some_ people aren't petty jerks."

"Hey, don't take that tone with us," Megan began to shoot back in a defensive tone, "Maya, Sarah and I are-"

"-Incapable of seeing anything beyond what most people and the fashion industry as a whole have arbitrarily decided constitutes as beautiful," Eddie interrupted, finishing Megan's sentence for her in a way that Megan wasn't actually going to use. Giving the three fifth-grade girls a firm glare, Eddie continued, "Seriously. What do you girls believe entitles the three of you to decide that Inaho shouldn't be allowed to be together with any guy at all? _I_ think that Inaho has a fun personality, _I_ think that Inaho looks cute, and _I_ think that _I_ ' _m_ lucky that Inaho likes me back! So, the next time you three see a boy and a girl together, and you think that the girl shouldn't be allowed to be together with the boy, why don't you three do yourselves a favor and _keep your noses out of other peoples_ ' _business_?!"

While facing Eddie, the Venoct brothers all applauded him, clapping their hands to show that they enjoyed the verbal smackdown the young Archer boy had just delivered to the three girls. After the applause from the Venoct brothers simmered down, Kira turned to regard Maya, Sarah and Megan. "Eddie's got a point, girls," Kira pointed out, "If both he and Inaho like each other enough that they want to be together, then that's their deal, not yours." Putting her hands on her hips, the thirteen-year-old girl continued, "Seriously. I think you three owe Inaho an apology."

Maya, Megan and Sarah all looked down to the ground, looks of shame on their respective faces. "I guess you're right," Maya began in a regretful tone, "We shouldn't have been so shallow." Seeing Sarah and Megan nod in agreement with their fashionable friend, Kira nodded in a way that a stern parent showing some approval would. The girl who befriends yo-kai was glad to see that she was making some progress with these girls.

* * *

Later, Kira and the Venoct brothers were walking with Eddie, Nate and Bear. The three fifth-grade boys were talking about the upcoming play that their class was going to be putting on. "Dudes, this is like a dream come true for me," Bear said in a tone showing mild excitement, "I get to play a leading role in a play based off of my favorite book of all time."

"I thought a dream come true for you would be to compete in an arena monster truck rally," Kira remarked casually.

A mildly confused and shocked look on his face, Bear turned to face Kira and said, "How did you know about that?"

"Remember back when you and a lot of other kids in the Uptown Springdale, Blossom Heights and Breezy Hills areas were having severe insomnia problems?" Kira asked, "Yeah, the Venoct brothers and I teamed up with some dream-related yo-kai to put an end to that messy business. The boys and I got to see the respective preferred dreams of you, Nate, Eddie and Katie."

"You…you saw our respective preferred dreams?" Eddie said, a concerned look on his face.

"Relax, little dude," Kira replied, "I won't share anything that I believe might be-"

"Yo Kira!" a familiar voice called out. Kira and the others all stopped walking and waited as Alex, who had called out, came running up to them. "Some muscular yo-kai that look like they're wearing a lot of orange just trapped Maya, Megan, Sarah and that Inaho girl from Eddie's party in a shed on the grounds of Springdale Elementary!" Alex blurted out.

"Sounds like we're dealing with some Darumachos here," Kira remarked. Turning to face the Venoct brothers, Kira said, "Boys, looks like we have to go perform a daring re-" Kira was cut off when Eddie ran on ahead in the direction of Springdale Elementary. "…Young love at its finest," Kira said in a mildly amused tone just before she, the Venoct brothers and the other kids proceeded to run after Eddie.

…

Over at Springdale Elementary, which was done with classes for the day, Kira, the Venoct brothers, Nate, Bear and Alex came running over to one of the sheds on school grounds. There, they saw Eddie facing a trio of Darumacho. "Hey, let Inaho and the other girls go," Eddie said in a firm and demanding tone, "What did they even do to you in the first place?"

"They interrupted our work-out and training!" the first Darumacho stated, "So we threw them into the shed and made it so that they can't get out until we let them out, which we won't until we're done with our work-out and training!" Leaning to his side, Eddie saw a few heavy trash cans were placed right in front of the shed door. Hearing the pounding on the shed door coming from within, it was clear that the girls inside couldn't just force the door open.

"Hey, Adonis boys," Kira began as she and the Venoct brothers came over, "I'm pretty sure this is all a big misunderstanding. Why not just let the girls go now?" Cracking her knuckles, Kira continued with a mild hint of warning in her tone, "You may not like what will happen if you lot don't comply."

"Ooh, this one's got a fire, she does," the second Darumacho said as he pointed to Kira, "Hey, why don't we get her and her buddies to join us in our work-out and training? It's better to work out and train in a group than it is to do so alone, after all!" The other two Darumacho all nodded and cheered in agreement with their fellow.

"Oh lovely," Shadow Venoct muttered to himself in a sarcastic, annoyed tone as he and his brothers proceeded to challenge the trio of Darumacho, "It's like were about to throw down against a trio of Sergeant Burlys."

The three Darumachos all jumped up and flew towards the Venoct brothers, one fist each facing forward. The Venoct brothers all stopped one Darumacho each with their respective dragon scarves, which grabbed ahold of their targeted opponent. The three Darumacho were all thrown back as Illuminoct and Shadow Venoct proceeded to go onto the attack while Venoct started to charge up his strongest technique.

Illuminoct and Shadow Venoct both ganged up on and attacked one Darumacho at a time, taking one of the Darumacho out before the other two could attack. One tried to attack Venoct but missed, and the other one punched Illuminoct in the right shoulder, although Shadow Venoct promptly healed that injury on his brother. Right after Illuminoct struck the second Darumacho, Venoct finished charging his strongest attack.

"Octo Snake!" Venoct exclaimed as the heads of his dragon scarf rushed forward quickly, hitting the remaining Darumacho multiple times each. The two Darumacho were both defeated by the time Venoct's strongest technique was finished. After the last Darumacho poofed away in a swirling cloud of purple smoke, same as the first two, Kira and the others turned their attention to the shed in which the girls were trapped.

"Alright then," Kira began, "Now all we have to do is move the trash cans so we can-" Kira was cut off midsentence when the shed door burst open with such force that the trash cans that were blocking it were pushed to the side. To their collective shock, Kira, the Venoct brothers and the other kids saw Inaho standing there on one foot, her other foot raised as if she were about to kick someone with a practiced martial arts kick.

Standing behind Inaho were Maya, Sarah and Megan, all three of which were looking just as shocked as Kira and her group. "…How did you do that?!" Maya asked, clearly impressed by Inaho apparently having kicked the shed door open with one strike. Lowering her foot back down, Inaho turned to face the three girls that she was trapped with. Smiling, the glasses-wearing girl simply giggled.

"You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you," Inaho replied, "Oh, and by the way, thanks for apologizing, you three." Maya, Sarah and Megan all turned to face each other, silently agreeing never to tease or taunt or insult Inaho ever again.

* * *

That Friday evening, the parents of the kids participating in Mr. Johnson's play came to the school gym to watch their children perform in the play. A lot of the parents even found a good bit of amusement in the fact that three other teachers were playing Oompa-Loompas. When the play finished, everyone in the audience stood up to give the performance a standing ovation. Hanging near the back of the gym were Kira, the Venoct brothers and Inaho, all of which came to watch the play.

"Wow, Eddie was awesome as Charlie, wasn't he?" Inaho asked as she turned her head to face Kira and the Venoct brothers.

"I will admit, he was able to get into character surprisingly well," Kira remarked, "I was having trouble imagining Eddie getting into character as Charlie because Charlie is supposed to be a poor kid, and Eddie has never had a day in his life where he experienced what it was like to not be able to afford something."

"Yeah, Inaho's little boyfriend is quite the thespian, is he not?" a familiar male voice said from behind Kira, Inaho and the Venoct brothers. Turning around, the five of them saw Atticus and the Kyubi brothers standing there. It had been Atticus who had spoken. "I heard you managed to convince a few girls that a person's appeal isn't exclusively a skin-deep deal," Atticus remarked to Kira. With a single nod, Atticus continued, "Bravo, Kira."

"What can I say?" Kira replied in a mildly amused tone, "Those three needed to be set straight."

"Ooh," Inaho said to Atticus in an amazed tone while looking at the Kyubi brothers, "These are your yo-kai friends who stopped those yo-kai that were messing with me that one time!"

"Oh yeah, Inaho told me about that," Kira remarked to the boy who befriends yo-kai, "I'm kind of interested in hearing about that little adventure, if you don't mind telling me, that is."

Turning his attention to Kira, Atticus said, "That's another story for another time, I'm afraid."

"Can't Inaho just tell us?" Illuminoct asked with a shrug.

"I don't really remember much of what the fox yo-kai did to save me," Inaho remarked, "And I don't really like talking about what happened shortly after."

"Looks like we're going to have to wait for story time, huh?" Kira said. With a casual shrug, Kira continued, "Ehh, it's no biggie. I got time."

"So, you guys came here to watch the play?" Shadow Venoct said to Atticus and the Kyubi brothers.

"Yeah, and for a grade school production of a play that dropped the ball on a lot of details from the book that it was based off of, it was surprisingly good," Frostail remarked with a shrug.

"What can I say?" Kira replied with a shrug, "No one's perfect."

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER TEN

Author's notes:

A lot of the people who participated in the play getting the roles that they got was my attempt at an elaborate joke to depict Mr. Johnson as incompetent when it comes to organizing and running a school play. Also, continuing the tradition that I have started in giving names to characters that I couldn't find actual names for, I gave Mr. Barton a first name.

At least he got an actual name in the English version.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter eleven: Enter! A new mascot!

Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl who lives in the Uptown Springdale area, was making her way over to the residence of the Adams family. Kira is one of two people who befriends yo-kai, and as such, she was accompanied by two of her yo-kai friends, Venoct and Illuminoct. The two of them were brothers, and they were brothers with the third member of their trio, Shadow Venoct. But their shadowy brother wasn't home for some reason.

"Can't you just summon Shadow Venoct with the Yo-kai Watch?" Venoct asked his human friend as they made their way to their destination.

"Shadow Venoct is part of the reason why Mrs. Adams asked that I come over," Kira explained, "Trust me, you'll find out what happened when we get there." Within another minute or so of walking, Kira, Venoct and Illuminoct finally made it to the Adams residence. Kira knocked on the door, and after a few seconds of waiting, it was answered by Lily, AKA Mrs. Adams.

The svelte-figured woman had obviously been performing an at-home exercise routine, as she was wearing a pale light-yellow sweatband, a pale light-blue women's tank top, a pair of gym shorts the same color as the tank top, and her lavender leg warmers. Lily also wore a look of resigned disappointment on her face. Looking up at the Adams matriarch, Kira said, "Okay, I'm here to pick them up."

"Well alright then," Lily replied as she turned around and gestured for Kira, Venoct and Illuminoct to come inside. Upon entering the living room of the Adams residence, Kira, Venoct and Illuminoct saw Shadow Venoct and Sergeant Burly sitting on the sofa, looking down in shame. Gesturing to the two yo-kai on her sofa, Lily said, "I believe these belong to you."

Kira sighed in disappointment while Illuminoct started to laugh. "Wait a minute," Venoct began in a mildly surprised tone, "Shadow Venoct did something to get into trouble? Isn't that usually Illuminoct's deal?"

"Yeah, I kind of want to know myself, Mrs. Adams," Kira remarked, "What did Shadow Venoct and Sergeant Burly do?"

"Hmph," Lily replied in a mildly annoyed tone, "I suppose you have a right to know…"

(FLASHBACK)

Lily, wearing a new outfit she got for working out, was standing in front of the TV while going along with an exercise routine that was on. Specifically, the TV was on a yo-kai world channel, and the exercise show was hosted by Sergeant Burly (it was a repeat, though). Lily was even singing along to the song that was playing while she was working out.

"I'm too scared to speak to that boy in my class," Lily sang along as she spun her forearms around each other, "If he doesn't like me I'll be broken like-"

*CRASH* "GYAHHHHH!" Lily stopped mid-routine when she heard the sound of a window on the second floor breaking, followed by her son Nate crying out in alarm, and that was followed by what sounded like two people getting into a fight with each other. Fearing for the safety of her son (and rightly so), Lily made a quick dash from in front of the TV to the staircase. Leaping up multiple steps at a time, the Adams matriarch was on the second floor and making her way over to her son's room within two seconds.

Practically throwing Nate's bedroom door open, Lily exclaimed, "Nate, are you o-" Lily stopped short upon seeing what was going on; her son Nate stood off to the side as he watched Shadow Venoct and Sergeant Burly having what looked like an old fashioned unarmed fight in the middle of the bedroom. Looking over, Lily saw that Nate's bedroom window was broken, and that there were bits of broken glass on the floor.

" _Well that explains the sound of glass breaking_ ," Lily thought as she turned her attention back to the two fighting yo-kai. Shadow Venoct looked like he was thrusting both fists forward for a double punch, but Sergeant Burly caught both hits in his hands.

"Aha!" Sergeant Burly laughed, "Nice try, Sha-" The exercising yo-kai was cut of mid-brag when he was struck in the face by two fists. After recovering from stumbling back, Sergeant Burly saw that both of the dragon heads of Shadow Venoct's scarves were moving back and forth, while Shadow Venoct's fists were pulled back, showing that the S-rank rare yo-kai was ready to go on the offensive again. It was then that Sergeant Burly realized that he had actually caught the dragon heads of the scarf, not Shadow Venoct's actual fists.

"…Clever girl," Sergeant Burly remarked in a quiet tone of amazement, right before a flying kick from Shadow Venoct struck Sergeant Burly in his stomach. After Sergeant Burly recovered from that, the two yo-kai were in each other's faces. As they were like that, they both felt their heads being pulled back; looking to the side, both Shadow Venoct and Sergeant Burly saw that Lily was grabbing the backs of their respective heads. The Adams matriarch then banged the foreheads of the two yo-kai together.

"What is wrong with you two?!" Lily snapped at the two quarreling yo-kai.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

"The two of you are lucky that Nate wasn't hurt," Lily said as she scolded the two yo-kai who sat on her sofa, "But seriously! Do you have any idea how afraid I was that something happened to my son? Be glad that the most I'm expecting out of this is for Nate's window to be fixed and an apology for this whole mess that you caused!"

"Yeah, covering the cost for replacing the window is reasonable," Kira remarked, getting Lily's attention in the process, "It's also well within my budget, given all the jobs I'm commissioned to carry out, and the fact that I'm pretty lucky when it comes to getting ahold of dolls made of precious metals."

"Wow, I did not expect something like this out of either of you two," Venoct said to Shadow Venoct and Sergeant Burly, "Illuminoct, maybe. But either of you two?" Shaking his head in a mildly disappointed manner, Venoct continued, "No way."

"Yeah, that could have gone better," Shadow Venoct remarked, sounding ashamed, as he agreed with his brother's remark. Sergeant Burly was about to say something, but he was cut off when the sound of a hissing cat caught everyone's attention. Turning to face the direction the sound came from, everyone saw a cat standing in the living room.

The cat was small and had reddish-orange fur with a white pattern of fur around his face that sort-of resembled a dollop of whipped cream, as well as having white fur over its chest. The cat also had white paws. Around the cat's neck was a simple gray collar with a pale light-blue tag on it. The cat walked over, leapt onto Shadow Venoct's lap, turned to face Sergeant Burly, and gave another angry hiss while swiping its right front paw in a warning manner.

"When did you guys get a cat?" Kira asked.

"Oh, that reminds me," Lily replied as her mood lightened considerably, "You remember telling me about back when you and your yo-kai friends solved the problem of a lot of kids having great trouble getting to sleep, and how you saw the respective preferred dreams of Nate, Katie, Eddie and Bear? Well, Nate's always behaved himself, and his grades in school are very impressive, so I figured that it wouldn't hurt to go to the animal shelter with Nate and let him pick out a cat."

Nate's new cat proceeded to nuzzle its head against Shadow Venoct while purring affectionately. Shadow Venoct got a mild laugh when, as he petted the cat, it purred a bit louder. When Sergeant Burly tried reaching over to the cat to pet it, the cat swiped a paw at the exercising yo-kai's hand while hissing in an angry tone; this made Shadow Venoct laugh even more.

"Heh," the S-rank rare yo-kai chuckled as he gently stroked the cat's back, "Good kitty. That's a very good kitty."

"Shadow Venoct, please don't encourage cats to act hostile towards Sergeant Burly," Kira said. Turning to face Lily, Kira continued with a bit of a smile, "Although it's still pretty nice of you to go through the trouble of letting Nate get a cat, Mrs. Adams." Pointing to the cat, Kira asked, "What's the cat's name?"

"Nate named him Steve," Lily explained. As she saw Steve the cat hiss angrily at Sergeant Burly again, Lily said in a mildly bemused tone, "And Steve seems to think that the whole mess is all Sergeant Burly's fault. By the way, I still expect the cost of replacing the window to be covered, and I'm still wanting that apology." Nodding in understanding, Kira proceeded to ask about which window repair place Lily was going to contact so that she'd have an idea how much she'd have to shell out.

* * *

The following day, Lily was entertaining her friend Rebecca Forester. Lily and Rebecca, with Nate and Katie sitting next to their respective mothers, were having a lovely enough talk about recent events that took place.

"It's a shame that neither Jason or Arron could have made it to the play due to work," Rebecca remarked, "I bet that they would have gotten a kick out of seeing Katie and Nate act in-" The Forester matriarch stopped midsentence when she felt her side ponytail knocked off her shoulder and fall over her back. Turning around, Rebecca saw Steve sitting behind her on the back of the sofa. The cat was simply staring at her as he purred while he swished his tail back and forth.

"Oh, that's Nate's new cat," Lily said, "I told you about him, remember?"

"He so cute!" Katie gushed as she looked at the cat. Turning to face Nate, Katie asked, "What did you name him?"

"I named him Steve," Nate explained.

With a bit of an amused smile, Rebecca said after she put her ponytail back where it was, "Well he certainly seems to be a friendly enough-" Rebecca stopped midsentence once again when she felt her side ponytail knocked off her shoulder and fall over her back. Turning around again to face Steve the cat, Rebecca said in her same amused tone, "Do you think that I'm playing a game with you?" Rebecca gave Steve a gently scratch on his head, which he seemed to enjoy, before putting her ponytail back where it was again and turning back to face Lily.

"But seriously, as I was saying," Rebecca said to Lily, "I bet that Jason and Aaron both would have gotten a-" Rebecca stopped midsentence for a third time when she felt Steve pull her side ponytail off from her shoulder and let it fall down her back. When Rebecca turned to face the small cat, Steve meowed at her, as if to say that she was not going to win this little game.

While Katie giggled at the sight of her mother apparently failing to win an argument against a cat, Nate remarked, "I'm really sorry about Steve messing with you, Mrs. Forrester. I have no idea why he keeps knocking your side ponytail off your shoulder."

* * *

The following morning, Nate woke up in his bedroom. As Nate stretched while sitting up in bed, Steve the cat leapt up onto the bed and proceeded to nuzzle against Nate's body while purring in an affectionate manner. Smiling, Nate proceeded to gently stroke Steve's back with his right hand. "Good morning to you too, Steve," Nate said, "Did you sleep well?" Looking up at his owner, Steve meowed before rubbing his head into the palm of the hand that Nate was using to pet him with, eliciting an amused chuckle out of Nate.

…

Later that morning, Nate was walking outside somewhere in the residential area of Uptown Springdale alongside Eddie and Bear. "So, there I was," Bear said as he was beginning to tell a story to his two friends, "Sharply dressed in my Willy Wonka costume, when I heard a girl's voice behind me say that I looked pretty good. I turned, and that's when I saw that it was Lulu who was complementing me."

"Oh yeah, you have a crush on Lulu," Eddie replied as he realized what Bear was trying to get at, "You've been trying to win Lulu over for how long now?"

"Ever since I first saw her back when all of us were in the first grade," Bear said with a nod, "But that was one of the few times I ever remember Lulu saying anything to me at all." With a mildly elated smile on his face, Bear continued, "It was one of the very few things she ever said to me, and it was a complement!"

"Well maybe it had to do with the suit you were wearing for your costume," Nate remarked, "I've been told how girls tend to have a thing for boys who dress in a-" Nate was cut off when he heard a cat meowing. Looking over, Nate saw that he and his friends were across the street from his house, and that his cat Steve was sitting on the front step of the house. "Steve?" Nate said in a confused tone, "What are you doing outside?"

"Your family got a cat, dude?" Eddie asked as he looked at the reddish-orange cat.

"Yeah, my mom took me to the animal shelter and let me pick out a cat because of how I always do very well in school," Nate began to explain. As Nate talked to his friends, Steve the cat, with his tail swishing back and forth a bit, stood up and proceeded to trot over to his owner, eager to have his back stroked. While Steve was trotting over, a car quickly (and somewhat recklessly) turned the corner and started speeding through the street where the Adams residence was located. Seeing the car, Nate's eyes widened with alarm.

"STEVE!" Nate exclaimed worriedly.

* * *

Later, Kira and Venoct were walking along in Uptown Springdale alongside Atticus and Kyubi. "Like I was saying, Kira," Atticus said as he faced the thirteen-year-old girl, "That prayer bead necklace you saw me wear when you caught me working out at the Springdale Sports Club was a gift I received on the first birthday I had here after I moved back to Japan. My grandaunt gave me that necklace, saying that it had-"

"Hey Atticus," Kyubi said as he cut off his human friend. Pointing to something that was ahead of the group, Kyubi continued, "Forgive the interruption, but there's something of a scene over in front of that Nate boy's home."

Looking over, the two humans and two yo-kai both saw a number of humans standing around outside of the Adams residence. Lily and Rebecca were giving Gilda (Bear's mom) a royal chewing out from the looks of it, and Katie was talking to Nate, Bear and Eddie, all three of which were sitting on the steps in front of the Adams residence. Nate was sitting with his face over his knees, with his arms around his shins. The Adams boy was also clearly crying.

Looking over, the two young teens and their respective yo-kai friends saw a car parked along the street, and a white sheet laying on the ground, covering something. "…This does not bode well," Atticus remarked as he and the others all walked over to see what was going on. Upon reaching the three adult women, the two young teens and their respective yo-kai friends could hear what they were going on about.

"I am _so_ sorry about what happened," Gilda said in an apologetic tone, "But I-"

"The boys, including your own son," Rebecca began to point out, "Claimed that they saw you turning the corner recklessly, and that you were also driving far quicker than what's legal in the residential area of this neighborhood!"

"You're lucky that you didn't hit one of the boys, Gilda," Lily added, "Things would have ended up way worse if you did!"

"Umm, Mrs. Adams?" Kira began in a somewhat unsure tone, "Mrs. Forester? Mrs. Bernstein? What's going on?" Upon hearing someone speaking out to them, the three women all turned and saw Kira, Atticus, Venoct and Kyubi standing there.

"Oh, hey kids," Lily said, "Umm, something really bad just happened."

"What happened, might I ask?" Atticus replied, thinking that he was not really going to like what the Adams matriarch was going to say.

Sighing in a resigned tone, Lily said while gesturing to Gilda, "A few minutes ago, Gilda here drove through the residential streets of this neighborhood a bit quickly. According to Nate, Bear and Eddie, who were walking along the sidewalk on their way over here, they saw her make a quick turn and speed through. Sadly, Steve got out around that time, saw Nate across the street and, well…" Pointing over to the white sheet on the ground that was covering something, Lily said, "Steve's over there."

"Oh geez," Kira said, covering her mouth with her hands out of shock upon realizing what Lily was getting at. Kira and Venoct proceeded to head over to where Nate was crying so that they could try to comfort him. This left Atticus and Kyubi standing there with the mothers.

"Oh yeah, Kira told me about how you let Nate pick a cat from the animal shelter, Mrs. Adams," Atticus remarked, "It's really tragic that Nate lost his cat so soon after getting it."

"What really breaks my heart about all of this is how devastated Nate is," Lily replied as her expression showed sympathy, "A mother would never want their child to go through such anguish, you know."

"This reminds me of how upset Katie was when a hamster she had died a few years ago," Rebecca remarked, "I never knew it was possible for a second-grade girl to cry that much."

As the mothers talked with each other, mostly Lily and Rebecca continuing to chew Gilda out for her recklessness, Atticus and Kyubi looked over to where the late Steve laid under a white sheet. As the human boy and his nine-tailed fox yo-kai friend looked at the scene, they both saw a small, white sphere of light slowly float up from the tragic remains. Atticus and Kyubi were the only ones who saw that small, white sphere of light, and were also the only ones who saw it fade away, as if it were a wisp of smoke from a barbecue grill.

Atticus and Kyubi turned to regard each other. "…You think that maybe…" Kyubi began, trailing off somewhat as he stopped to consider what he and his human friend just witnessed.

"Maybe, Kyubi," Atticus replied. Turning back to face where Steve laid under the white sheet, Atticus repeated, "Maybe."

* * *

The following morning over at the Adams residence, Lily was standing at the counter as she was preparing something, while Nate, still in his sleepwear, was sitting at the table, a dead tired look on his face as he absentmindedly dipped a spoon into a bowl of cereal. His red, puffy eyes and the faint but noticeable races of dried mucus under his nostrils were clear indications that the Adams boy was still grieving for the loss of his cat.

As Lily was doing her thing at the counter and while Nate was pretty much only pretending to eat his bowl of cereal, a pair of small feet could be heard gently patting the floor as the owner of that pair of feet made its way into the kitchen/dining area. "Good morning Nyate," a voice said, "Good morning, Mrs. Nyate's mom. Do we have any Choco-bars?"

"There should be some in the bottom cabinet," Lily said, not even realizing that she was talking to someone she didn't recognize.

"Okay, thanks," the voice replied as the sound of little feet made its way to the bottom most cabinet in the kitchen. When the cabinet door opened, Lily and Nate, both suddenly realizing that someone was in the kitchen/dining area with them, turned to face the cabinets in the kitchen. When they did, they saw the visitor that they had.

The visitor was a bipedal cat that, for the most part, looked a lot like the late Steve the cat. The only differences were that this cat was walking on his hind legs, he had a slight snip in his left ear, he wore a yellow belly wrap around his stomach, his tag was replaced with a bell, and he had two tails rather than one. Also, there were little blue flames on the end of both tails. Ducking out of the bottom cabinet, the bipedal cat was holding a Choco-bar.

"Yum," the cat said as he held the prize that he sought, "This is going to-" The cat stopped short as, realizing he was being watched, he looked up to the stares of Lily and Nate. Regarding the mother and son pair with a confused look, the cat said in a confused tone, "What?"

From outside of the Adams residence, you could hear both Lily and Nate scream in surprise.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two-tailed talking cat that had mysteriously showed up at the Adams residence was sitting on the living room sofa as the disk-shaped resonator of a stethoscope was placed against his chest, followed by his stomach. Atticus, who was using the stethoscope, got up as he turned to regard Lily, Nate, Kyubi, Kira and Venoct, all of which were present while Atticus was looking over the mysterious cat that had shown up out of the blue.

"It's as I expected when Kyubi and I saw that small sphere of light leave the deceased remains of Nate's cat yesterday," Atticus remarked to everyone present. To Nate specifically, Atticus said, "Congratulations, Nate, you got your cat back. I hope you don't mind that he's a yo-kai now."

"Wait a minute," Nate said in a tone that was equal parts happiness and confusion as he pointed to the cat on the sofa, "That's Steve? Steve's a yo-kai now?"

"Well that certainly explains why Nyate or Mrs. Nyate's mom didn't recognize me at first," the yo-kai form of Nate's cat remarked. Getting off of the sofa, the cat yo-kai said to everyone that was present, "Although I am now known as Jibanyan."

"Ji…banyan," Kira repeated slowly, clearly having trouble comprehending what was going on.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Jibanyan said, "Yes. Jibanyan." Looking to Venoct and Kyubi, Jibanyan said, "These yo-kai here aren't smelly dummies like that muscular yo-kai who broke Nyate's window, are they? Because if so, then I'm going to have to ask that they both leave. Smelly dummies like that muscular yo-kai who broke Nyate's window have no place in this household as far as I'm concerned!"

"No, no," Kira remarked in a mildly amused tone to the cat yo-kai, "Rest assured that Venoct and Kyubi are well behaved, very smart and are not smelly. …Well, I can only say that much about Venoct. Atticus will have to fill you in on Kyubi."

"Kyubi is indeed well-behaved and does not smell bad," Atticus assured Jibanyan as he looked down to where the cat yo-kai stood.

"Oh, okay," Jibanyan replied, his tone sounding relieved. Jibanyan then pulled something out of his belly warmer and handed it to Atticus. "Nyate doesn't have one of those watches," Jibanyan said as he handed his yo-kai medal over to Atticus, "And you're the guy who examined me, so here you go. Please try not to summon me too much, as I actually kind of like living here."

With a bit of an amused smile, Atticus said as he accepted Jibanyan's medal, "Sure thing."

"Well this is fantastic," Lily remarked, "Granted, it's totally unexpected, but it's still fantastic all the same."

"Yeah," Nate agreed. Turning to face Jibanyan, Nate said, "Glad to have you back St- er, I mean, Jibanyan."

His two tails slowly swishing back and forth, Jibanyan replied, "I'm glad to be back, Nyate. But there is one more thing that I need to point out."

A curious smile on his face, Nate said, "What is it?"

"We're going to be needing more Choco-bars," Jibanyan replied, drawing laughter out of everyone present.

* * *

The following afternoon over at the Springdale Business Center in Downtown Springdale, Jason Forester stepped out of a meeting room to get a breath of fresh air. For the past couple of weeks, Jason and his team had been working pretty much nonstop trying to come up with the next wave of yo-kai related merchandise.

There was only so much that they could do, especially when they take into account the fact that a lot of yo-kai don't really like having their likeness used without their consent; a lion-like bipedal yo-kai called Blazion taught Jason and his team that lesson all too well shortly after the phenomena roughly two years ago, which allowed humans to see yo-kai as easily as they could see other humans.

As he looked up at the ceiling on the floor of the Business Center that he was on, Jason let out a sigh. "This next pitch is going to be very tough to sell," Jason said aloud to himself, "Unless a miracle shows up out of nowhere, I have no-"

"Excuse me sir, but have you seen Mr. Nyate's dad by any chance?" a voice spoke up, getting the Forester patriarch's attention. Looking down to where the voice was coming from, Jason saw Jibanyan looking up at him. Jason didn't say anything, as his eyes widened out of shock as he met a yo-kai that he had yet to see before.

Pulling a brown envelope out of his belly warmer, Jibanyan said as he held the envelope, "I was asked to bring this to Mr. Nyate's dad. Mrs. Nyate's mom told me that her husband worked here in this really big building." As Jibanyan was explaining himself to Jason, Aaron Adams came walking out of the same meeting room.

"Hey Jason, we still need to figure out what we're going to do for the next wave of merchandise," Aaron said to his co-worker, "I know that this deadline that we're dealing with really has us in a bind, but you're the team leader, so we really need you to rally…" Stopping short upon seeing that his co-worker and friend was not responding, Aaron said, "Umm, Jason, are you okay, my good man?"

"Oh, there you are, Mr. Nyate's dad!" Jibanyan said as he looked up at Aaron. Holding the brown envelope to Aaron, Jibanyan said, "Mrs. Nyate's mom said that you forgot this at home, so here you go."

"Heh, thanks for the save, little guy," Aaron replied as he accepted the envelope from the cat yo-kai, "And it'd be a lot simpler in the long run if you just called me and my wife Mr. Adams and Mrs. Adams respectively."

Turning to his co-worker, Jason said with a mild hint of shock in his tone, "You know this yo-kai, Aaron?"

"Oh yeah, remember when I told you about how the cat that my wife got for our son was killed a short while ago?" Aaron said as he turned to face Jason. Pointing to Jibanyan, Aaron said while still facing his co-worker, "Yeah, Nate's cat came back as this here yo-kai."

Looking down at where Jibanyan stood, Jason asked him, "What's your name?"

"I'm Jibanyan," the cat yo-kai replied, "My favorite hobbies are having people pet me, eating Choco-bars, and…umm, mister, why are you looking at me like that?"

…

As the other men in Jason and Aaron's team at the Springdale Business Center were still in the meeting room, struggling to come up with any idea on a new pitch for yo-kai merchandise, Jason peeked back into the room.

"Hey men, guess what?" Jason said. After all of the men in the room turned to regard their team's leader, Jason held Jibanyan into the room. "I just found the newest face of our company's line of yo-kai merchandise!" Jason said, drawing cheers from the other men in the room.

As he was being cheered on, Jibanyan simply replied with a confused, "Nya?"

* * *

Two days later, as Nate, Bear and Eddie, with Jibanyan following behind Nate, walked through a store in Springdale, Eddie said, "And so that's when Inaho asked me to get this new bag for her that has the face of Nate's yo-kai cat on it. I mean, I know that a boy is supposed to get things for his girlfriend, often at said girlfriend's request, but what really caught my attention is that Inaho asked for that specific bag."

"Hey Nate, what's your yo-kai cat's face doing on the bag Eddie's girlfriend wants him to get for her?" Bear asked.

"My dad and Katie's dad decided to rope Jibanyan into serving as the quote unquote 'newest face of their company's line of yo-kai merchandise', or some other nonsense like that," Nate explained, "That's what my dad told me when he called me and said that he, Katie's dad and their team at the Springdale Business Center needed my permission to go on ahead with their plan to use Jibanyan."

"Well you're my owner, aren't you, Nyate?" Jibanyan asked, "I mean, people have to run stuff like that by you before they can use me for stuff like that, right?" Pulling a Choco-bar out from his belly warmer, Jibanyan unwrapped his favorite treat, surprisingly not melted in the least even thought it was being kept inside of a belly warmer, and took a bite out of it.

"Umm, Nate," Eddie began as he and the other boys saw Jibanyan eat the Choco-bar, "I'm pretty sure that chocolate isn't safe for cats to eat."

"Jibanyan is a yo-kai now, Eddie," Nate pointed out, "I'm pretty sure that stuff like that doesn't apply to him anymore." As the three fifth-grade boys and one cat yo-kai talked, Kira and the Venoct brothers came walking over to them, with Kira waving to get their attention.

"Hey Nate," Kira began, "Word on the street is that Jibanyan is now the new poster boy for the merchandise that is being peddled by the Springdale Business Center. Since you're apparently responsible for looking after Jibanyan, I take it that this means that you and your folks are seeing a nice little bump financially?"

"Yeah, but my dad's handling all of that stuff," Nate replied.

"There's even a new brand of gummy snacks shaped like the head of Nate's yo-kai cat," Bear pointed out, "I heard that Lulu wants to try it, so I was thinking of grabbing her a bag."

"Yeesh," Venoct remarked in a tone of mild amazement, "Who knew that the face of a two-tailed cat yo-kai would be able to sell so much stuff?" As the kids and the yo-kai all talked, they heard a familiar voice call out. Turning to face the direction the call came from, they came face-to-face with Katie and her mother Rebecca. It had been Katie how had called out.

"Well if it isn't the cat who saved the day," Rebecca said in a mildly amused tone while regarding Jibanyan, "You showing up at the company my husband works at really pulled him team out of quite the bind."

"Oh, hi Mrs. Katie's mom, hi Katie," Jibanyan greeted as Rebecca and Katie came up.

"Umm, you can call me Mrs. Forester," Rebecca replied, mildly caught off guard by how Jibanyan referred to her.

"He was pulling something similar with my parents until my dad told him our last name," Nate informed the Forester matriarch.

"I think it's kind of cute how he refers to our respective parents like that," Katie remarked to Nate before turning to face Jibanyan. Kneeling down, Katie ruffled the top of Jibanyan's head while saying, "But then again, a lot about this little guy is cute."

"You got a point, sweetie," Rebecca said as she walked over, knelt down herself, and proceeded to start petting Jibanyan after Katie pulled her hand away. However, about a second after Rebecca started petting Jibanyan, the cat yo-kai jumped up, flicked her side ponytail off of her shoulder so that it fell down her back, then landed back down.

"Didn't I warn you that wearing your hair like that is a cursed hairstyle?" Jibanyan said, "I'm trying to break the curse that's on you, Mrs. Forester."

Sighing, Rebecca remarked, "At least you got my name right this time." The kids and the Venoct brothers all started to laugh as the Forester matriarch sighed in a tone of resigned defeat.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER ELEVEN

Author's notes:

Seeing as how Jibanyan is pretty much the golden boy of the Yo-kai Watch series, I couldn't go for too long without eventually bringing that lovable nekomata in at some point or another. So, this chapter will cover that little issue. Anywho, the next chapter is going to be something of a Halloween special, seeing as how it's October, and Halloween takes place during the tail end of this month.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter twelve: Semi-spooky stories that are semi-scary

There is a room that was completely black, save for a side table next to a plush armchair. Sitting in the armchair was Illuminoct, wearing a suit. He had a newspaper over his face as he snored loudly, obviously having fallen asleep. A few seconds into this, Darkyubi walked in, smacked Illuminoct awake, knocking the newspaper off of Illuminoct in the process, then walked off screen. After regaining his bearings, Illuminoct turned to look at those who were watching him.

"Oh, I didn't realize that I was expecting guests," Illuminoct said to the viewers, "Good evening, children of the night. I'm your host for this evening. Tonight, I have for you a selection of spooky stories that will give goosebumps, send shivers down your spine. If you think yourselves brave enough, then I welcome you to stay and listen. Are you sure you want to stay and listen?"

The view of Illuminoct went up and down, as if the person facing him was nodding in the affirmative. "Very well, I shall tell you the tales," Illuminoct said, "But don't go saying that I didn't warn you…" Reaching down over the side of the chair he sat in, Illuminoct pulled up a book, laid it across his lap, and opened the cover. "Here's tale number one," Illuminoct began.

* * *

(Seeking sweets and marshing mallows)

The children of the Springdale area were getting ready for Halloween. The younger children were especially excited for the holiday, as Halloween means candy. Nate Adams, Eddie Archer and Bear Bernstein were talking about how much candy they were all going to get. Watching the three boys excitedly talk about their plans for candy was Kira, a girl that was about two years older than the boys. Kira was one of two youths who befriends yo-kai; in fact, Kira was currently accompanied by three of her yo-kai friends, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct.

"Dude, I'm going to get, like, a bajillion pieces of candy," Bear declared, "But then again, the three of us are going as the red, blue and green members of the pirate Sentai team, so how can we _not_ get a big load of candy?" Jerking a thumb at his chest, Bear said, "And it's all thanks to my brilliant planning and genius mind when it comes to getting the most out of the holidays. You guys can thank me later."

"Oh, you three are going as members of a Sentai team?" Kira asked, her curiosity piqued, as she stood up from where she sat and walked over a few steps to Bear, Nate and Eddie.

"Bear figured that if the three of us had a theme when it came to what costumes we had, it would garner more candy for us," Eddie replied.

"And I can assume that since it was him who came up with the idea, Bear is going to be the red Sentai, as they are always the leaders?" Venoct asked.

"Umm, I'm actually going to be the blue Sentai," Bear replied in an embarrassed tone. Grumbling a bit, Bear continued, "Stupid costume store didn't have a stupid red Sentai costume for kids as muscular and well-toned as me."

"Don't you mean fat?" Illuminoct asked, drawing snickers out of his brothers.

"Muscular and well-tone," Bear insisted in response. Jerking a thumb over his should to point out Nate, Bear said, "Nate's going to be the red Sentai."

"Well since Nate usually wears a red shirt," Kira began, "It would make sense for him to be the red Sentai. Likewise, since you usually wear that light blue jacket, Bear, it makes sense for you to be the blue Sentai."

"And since Eddie usually wears that green coat of his, it makes sense for him to be the green Sentai?" Nate half said half asked.

"And all of that was all part of my brilliant and genius plan to get us maximum candy!" Bear declared, left hand on his hip and his right hand, index finger extended, held up.

As the boys, Kira and the Venoct brothers talked, they were approached by Katie Forester and Alex, two girls in the same class as the boys. "Umm, excuse me, Nate," Katie began in a slightly nervous manner, "But I don't suppose you have any plans for Halloween, do you?" Having heard Katie speak up, everyone turned to face her and Alex.

"Oh, hey Katie," Nate replied in a friendly, casual tone, "Bear, Eddie and I were going to dress up as the blue, green and red members of the pirate Sentai team so we can go trick-or-treating. Bear said that if our costumes had a theme, we will get more candy." Giving the Forester girl a curious look, Nate asked, "Why do you ask?"

"Well some of the parents in the Uptown Springdale area are planning a big event for the kids for Halloween," Katie explained, "It's going to be at nine. From what my mom told me, it's going to be a really great party."

"We'll still have plenty of time for trick-or-treating," Eddie pointed out to the other boys.

"Where's the event going to be held at?" Kira asked as she regarded the younger girl.

"At the community center," Katie replied. To the boys, but somewhat specifically to Nate, Katie asked, "Think you'll be able to make it?"

"Well I don't see why not," Nate said, "Thanks for the heads up, Katie."

"There's also…one more thing that I…kind of want to ask about," Katie went on. With a mildly unsure look on her face, Katie said, "Would it be…okay with you guys if I…joined you for trick-or-treating?"

"No," Bear replied flatly and right away.

"Come on, dude, don't be like that," Illuminoct said in a very mildly scolding tone.

"He's got a point, Bear," Nate agreed, "In fact, if you're worried about maintaining the theme our group's going to be using to get maximum candy, then Katie can simply dress up as either the yellow pirate Sentai or the pink pirate Sentai."

"Why can't she join us?" Eddie asked as he regarded Bear.

"Katie is a girl," Bear explained, "And if she joined our group, her being a girl will throw off our group's dude-atude factor." Gently shaking his head in the negative, Bear continued, "I'm sorry, but Katie can't join us."

"Oh, I see," Katie replied in a disappointed and embarrassed tone, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even brought it up." Her head hung, Katie turned around and walked away. After Katie was far enough out of earshot, Alex turned to regard the boys, but was mostly focused on Bear. The tomboy of Uptown Springdale gave Bear a disappointed scowl.

"Well dang, Bear," Alex remarked in a tone like that used by parents sounding both disappointed and stern at the same time, "I never took you to be a jerk. There really isn't any harm in letting Katie join you, Nate and Eddie for trick-or-treating." Holding her hands on her hips, Alex added as she continued to look at Bear in a stern manner, "I hope that Hallohallo steals your trick-or-treating profits tonight."

"Who?" Shadow Venoct said in a confused tone as he and his brothers regarded the tomboy.

"Oh yeah," Kira said as she turned to her yo-kai friends, "You guys don't know about the story that Alex is talking about."

"The legend of Hallohallo is a local story here in Springdale," Alex explained to the yo-kai, "He comes out during Halloween, due to the abundance of free sweets being handed out. According to the story, Hallohallo will snatch the bags of candy kids collect during their trick-or-treating before making his escape. The story also mentions how mean kids are particularly vulnerable to having their bags of trick-or-treating candy stolen by Hallohallo."

"Wait a minute," Venoct interrupted, "You mean to tell me that there's some Halloween spirit that goes around stealing bags of candy from kids? Shouldn't something like that be a cause for alarm for some folks?" Crossing his arms over his chest, Venoct continued, "I would imagine that parents might worry about this 'Hallohallo' that you're talking about. Who knows what else that spirit may do!"

"Relax, Venoct," Nate replied, "I know about the story of Hallohallo as well, and I can assure you that all Hallohallo wants to do is collect candy. Hallohallo is all harmless mischief fueled by a desire for candy. No malice whatsoever."

"Isn't there a little rhyme about Hallohallo?" Eddie asked, a curious look on his face.

"Yeah, but I don't remember it right now," Alex remarked with an indifferent shrug. Turing to face Bear again, Alex said, "But seriously, Bear. Unless you want Hallohallo to steal your trick-or-treating profits, I strongly suggest you apologize to Katie and let her join you guys."

"No way, dude," Bear insisted, "The part about quote unquote 'bad kids' being more vulnerable to Hallohallo was just some made-up bit that parents threw into the story in recent events because parents are worried about their kids getting their feelings hurt or some other nonsense like that or whatever."

"Fine," Alex replied, seeing that she wasn't going to be able to convince Bear, "Then I'll repeat what I said earlier. I hope that Hallohallo steals your trick-or-treating profits tonight." Turing around, Alex said before she walked off, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an upset friend to go and tend to."

After Alex was gone, Kira and the Venoct brothers turned to regard the boys. "Seriously, little dude," Kira said to Bear, "I think that Alex had a point about you apologizing to Katie and letting her join you, Nate and Eddie. In fact, having both Katie and Alex join you will help fill out the pirate Sentai team a bit more. You'll just need to find a boy to play the silver Pirate Sentai, then you'll have the whole kit and kaboodle."

"I know what I'm doing here, Kira," Bear replied, "Trust me. Nate, Eddie and I will be more than enough to break the world record for most candy gathered in one night of trick-or-treating." The girl who befriends yo-kai sighed in a resigned tone, realizing that she would not be able to get through to bear.

"Very well," Kira said, "I guess that I can't change your mind on this. Maybe I'll end up seeing you boys at the Halloween event at the community center later tonight." To the Venoct brothers, Kira said, "Come on, boys, let's bounce." Kira then turned to leave, with the Venoct brothers all following their human friend.

Turning to look at the boys as he left with his brothers, Illuminoct said, "Seriously, Bear. Telling Katie that she couldn't join you guys simply because she's a girl wasn't the nicest thing in the world to do, dude." The blonde S-rank rare yo-kai then turned back around and continued along with his brothers and their human friend.

* * *

Later, Nate, Bear and Eddie were walking along somewhere in Uptown Springdale. "So, boys," Bear began as he rubbed his hands together, "Are the two of you both as ready for trick-or-treating tonight as I am?"

"Heck yeah," Eddie replied, "All of that candy is going to be sweet! Both figuratively and literally."

Seeing the mildly unsure look on Nate's face, Bear said, "Hey Nate, you okay, dude? You seem concerned about something. What's up?"

"I think that you should have let Katie join us in trick-or-treating," Nate replied, "There really isn't any harm in letting her join us, is there?"

"Do you want to mess up the dude-atude that our group has going by letting a girl join in and throwing her girly girlishness into the mix?" Bear asked as he turned to regard the Adams boy.

"Bear, lighten up, man," Nate said, his tone sounding mildly annoyed.

"Nate's got a point, Bear," Eddie remarked, "Kira also had a point about letting Alex join as well, in addition to finding a fourth boy to-" Eddie was cut off when he was yanked off to the side and dragged off to somewhere that Bear and Nate couldn't see.

"Eddie!" Bear and Nate exclaimed in unison, alarmed that their friend had just been spirited away right in front of them. The two remaining boys both looked about, hoping that they would be able to find Eddie.

"What the heck just happened to Eddie?!" Bear said, clearly starting to freak out.

"Maybe he was spirited away by Hallohallo," Nate said in a fearful tone, "I mean, we were talking about him earlier, so it wouldn't come as much of a surprise if that were the case."

"Dude, you aren't seriously thinking that story is real, are you?" Bear asked, "I mean, it's just a tale that adults made up in order to-"

"GAHHHH!" Nate cried out, cutting Bear off midsentence, as he was yanked off to the side and taken somewhere that Bear couldn't see.

Turning back around and looking where Nate was standing, Bear, realizing that he was now completely alone, started to freak even more. "Okay, guys," Bear said aloud in a mildly worried tone, "If this is some sort of prank, it's not funny!" Continuing to look around, Bear said after not getting a response, "…Guys?"

"Hallo, hallo, brain of tallow," a mysterious, young and female voice called out in something of a sing-song tone, startling Bear and making him freak out more.

"Guts are gone, noggin's hollow," another female voice, one that sounded somewhat older than the first, called out in a similarly sing-song manner.

"Seeking sweets and marshing mallows," a male voice called out this time, but still in a sing-song manner.

"And liberty and justice for all!" a second male voice called out. That was followed by the sound of someone getting smacked in the back of their head, which was followed by the second male voice calling out, "Ow!"

"W-what's going on here?" Bear said aloud, clearly alarmed if the fearful look on his face was any indication. Suddenly, Bear heard something, or rather some _one_ , land behind him. Turning around, Bear saw a cloaked individual with a jack-o-lantern head. Their cloak was a simple black number with a purple tie at the back of the neck, and they wore a witch's hat on their head. The hat had a simple yellow band at the base of the hat.

"W-who are you?!" Bear asked fearfully as he pointed to the individual.

"I am Hallohallo," the cloaked individual said, "And you have been very naughty!" Hallohallo then rushed forward, making Bear scream in fright like a little girl.

…

Later that night, Bear, wearing his blue pirate Sentai costume, was sitting in a folding chair at the community center while the party was going on, a bemused look on his face. As Bear sat there, he was approached by Nate, Eddie and Katie, dressed as the red, green, and pink pirate Sentai members respectively. "Come on, Bear," Nate said, "You have to admit that the three of us plus Alex, Kira and the Venoct brothers got you pretty good with that Hallohallo prank."

"I'm glad that the prank convinced you to not exclude me simply because of my gender," Katie remarked.

"Oh no," Bear began to explain to Katie, "The prank isn't what convinced me to let you join us in our trick-or-treating earlier, Katie. It was Alex telling my mom that I wasn't letting you join us, followed by my mom making me let you join us, that convinced me to let you join us."

"True," Eddie remarked to Bear, "The one thing that I can think of that's scarier than the story of Hallohallo is your mom."

Shrugging indifferently, Bear replied, "I won't argue with that." ~Fin

* * *

Back to the black room with the side table and armchair, Illuminoct, still in his suit, was looking at the viewer. "Oh?" Illuminoct began as he faced the viewer, "You're still here after that spooky tale? You must be made of tougher stuff than I first gave you credit for." Shifting around in the armchair a bit, Illuminoct turned the page in the book that he was reading from.

"If you're tough enough to sit through the first terrifying tale," Illuminoct remarked, "Then you may perchance be tough enough to sit through this second tale of spookiness."

* * *

(A young girl's yearning)

Over at the Forester residence during the Halloween season, Katie Forester was laying on her stomach on her bed as she was looking over a book. Specifically, it was a school yearbook from Springdale Elementary School, the school that Katie goes to. The Forester girl was looking at a page that had a bunch of pictures taken on school picture day, specifically looking at the picture of a certain boy who attends Springdale Elementary, same as her.

As this was her own copy of the yearbook, Katie had drawn a heart shape, in red ink, around the picture in question, the picture of one Nate Adams. Granted, the two kids were friends, but unbeknownst to Nate, Katie had something of a crush on him. Katie had, on many occasions, tried various ideas to get Nate to like her as much as she liked him, but all of these plans had failed, either due to bad timing or Katie's own nervousness.

But that would no longer be a problem after tonight.

As Katie continued to look at the picture of the boy who was unaware of the fact that he stole her heart, there was a knock at her bedroom door. "Katie?" the voice of Rebecca Forester, Katie's mother, called from the other side of the door, "That Atticus boy and his nine-tailed fox yo-kai friends are here to see you. Atticus said something about you asking him to come over?"

"Yeah, hold on!" Katie called back as she got up off of her bed. Katie closed her yearbook before putting it on a shelf in her room, left her bedroom door, and walked downstairs and into her family's living room. Upon reaching the living room, Katie saw that Atticus, along with Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi, were all there waiting. "Sorry if I made the four of you wait for too long," Katie said to her guests in an apologetic tone, "But thanks for coming. Did you manage to find what I asked about?"

"Frostail was the one who found it," Atticus remarked as he pointed to the ice-wielding fox yo-kai. Giving the young Forester girl a look of suspicion, the boy who befriends yo-kai said, "Are you really sure you want to try something like this?"

"I literally can't think of any other way to do this, Atticus," Katie replied, a hint of desperation in her tone.

Sighing in a resigned tone, Atticus replied, "Very well, Katie. Just be careful with carrying out this little plan of yours." After Atticus was done talking, Frostail got up, walked over to Katie, and handed her a somewhat old-looking leather-bound book that was approximately the size and thickness of the average manga graphic novel. The book looked like it was a personal notebook that someone wrote in a rather long time ago.

"The recipe you're looking for should be on page ninety-five," Frostail said to Katie.

"Thanks!" Katie said as her expression lightened up upon receiving the book from Frostail.

"Rest assured that the Kyubi brothers and I will not say a word of what you have planned," Atticus said to the Forester girl, "But that's only because we think that keeping quiet is part of what we have to do, given the nature of the job that you hired us for." Crossing his arms over his chest, Atticus continued, "It wouldn't do very well for word of what you have planned to get out, now would it?" After he said his bit and got the payment that Katie owed him, Atticus took his leave, with the Kyubi brothers following behind him.

* * *

Later, Katie was up in her bedroom, accompanied by Zoey and Lina, who she had invited over. "Wow, I can't believe you actually managed to get ahold of a witch's personal journal, Katie," Zoey remarked in a tone that clearly sounded impressed as she held the journal that Atticus and the Kyubi brothers had brought over earlier. Looking up from the journal to Katie, Zoey asked, "What spell are you going to attempt?"

"I'm not actually going to attempt any of the spells in this journal," Katie replied, "I'm going to try the recipe on page ninety-five." Gesturing to the small mixing bowl, wooden mixing spoon, measuring cup of water, and various ingredients sitting on the floor between her and the other two girls, Katie said as she looked to Zoey, "Why else do you think I went and gathered all of this stuff?"

Curious, Zoey opened the journal and turned the pages until she reached page ninety-five. After finding the page and scanning it for a bit, Zoey's eyes widened with mild surprise. Looking up from the journal to Katie, Zoey said, "You're aiming to make a love potion?" Gently setting the journal down, Zoey said in a mildly self-amused tone, "You aren't planning on somehow getting Nate Adams to drink this love potion, are you?"

"Everything else I've tried to get Nate to like me has failed," Katie replied as she reached over to pick up the journal. Looking at the love potion recipe on page ninety-five, Katie said, "This is pretty much my last hope." Following the recipe word for word, Katie whipped up the love potion after about two and a half minutes of working.

"…It says here that you're supposed to put some of the potion in a drink and have the boy you're attempting to win over drink it," Lina said as she read some of the instructions on how to use the love potion.

"That's why I made up some more of the hot chocolate from my Grandpa Kenny's recipe," Katie remarked, "I just put some of the love potion in to the canister of hot chocolate I have set aside, find Nate, have him drink the love potion-laced hot chocolate, and bada-bing bada-boom, Nate will finally like me."

"Sounds like a plan," Zoey remarked as she and Lina helped Katie clean up everything.

* * *

Out in the residential area of Uptown Springdale, Katie, Zoey and Lina were walking towards the Adams residence, with Katie holding a canister that contained a homemade beverage. As the three girls walked, they bumped into Kira and the Venoct brothers. "Oh, sup girls?" Kira said as she held a hand up in a gesture of greeting, "What are you up to?"

"Oh, the girls and I were on our way over to Nate's place," Katie replied. Gesturing to the canister she was holding, Katie explained, "I made some of the hot chocolate based off of my Grandpa Kenny's recipe, and I was hoping to get Nate's opinion on it."

"Oh, sweet," Illuminoct said as he took the canister from Katie, "I was getting thirsty." Opening the canister, Illuminoct said right before he started drinking, "Bottom's up!"

"Illuminoct, no!" Katie remarked, eyes widening out of alarm as the blonde-haired yo-kai drank a beverage he had no idea was laced with love potion. After he downed the contents, Illuminoct dropped the canister and hunched over, groaning with pain.

"The heck did you put in that hot chocolate, Katie?!" Kira snapped in an alarmed tone, clearly worried about her yo-kai friend. Kira's alarm changed to partial confusion when, after his form shifted, Illuminoct turned into a duplicate of Nate.

Seeing the half-shocked half-confused looks on the faces of his brothers and their human friend, the Illuminoct-turned-Nate said, "What are you guys looking at?"

"The hot chocolate you took and drank…" Venoct said, "…Turned you into Nate."

"Mirror!" Nate-Illuminoct demanded as he held out a hand. Lina took a pocket mirror out of a bag she was carrying and handed it over. Popping the pocket mirror open, Nate-Illuminoct said as he saw his new form, "Holy crud! I did turn into Nate! Oh man, I have so many pranks in mind that I can pull off while I'm like this!"

"You will do no such thing!" Shadow Venoct snapped. Laying a hand on his transformed brother's shoulder, Shadow Venoct said, "While you stay put in someplace safe, the rest of us will be looking for a-" Shadow Venoct stopped short when, as the hand he laid on his transformed brothers started glowing, he cried out in pain as his own form shifted. After a few seconds, Shadow Venoct turned into another Nate.

"Now there are two Nates," Kira said in a half alarmed, half confused tone, "Three if you count the actual Nate."

"What's going on here?!" Katie exclaimed in alarm as she watched other people turn into duplicates of the boy she had a crush on.

"…Aha, here we go," Lina said as she pulled out the book and flipped through it. Reaching the right page, Lina said, "It says here that if a yo-kai consumes any amount of the love potion if it was meant for a human, they'll turn into a duplicate of the person that the love potion was intended for. Also, any yo-kai who makes physical contact with those who were transformed will also be transformed into a duplicate of the person that the love potion was intended for."

"…Love potion?" Kira said in a suspicious tone as she regarded Katie.

"Yeah, that hot chocolate that Katie was going to give to Nate was laced with a love potion," Zoey explained to the girl who befriends yo-kai, "If it was consumed by Nate as intended, then the most that would happen would be Nate developing a crush on Katie." Gesturing to the scene in front of them, Zoey continued, "Instead, there are now three additional Nates."

"Oh great," Kira said as she turned to see three Nates standing there, "Which one of you two touched Venoct?"

"That would be me," Nate-Illuminoct said as he raised a hand, "Sorry."

"I'm really sorry!" Katie blurted out, "But I couldn't think of anything else to get Nate to like me! I wasn't intending for this to happen!"

Sighing in a resigned tone, Kira remarked, "Well in your defense, this wouldn't have happened if Illuminoct didn't snatch the hot chocolate and drank it." With a shrug, Kira replied, "All we have to do is keep the transformed Venoct brothers sequestered until we find out how to fix this mess. I mean, how hard can that be?"

…

About an hour later, Katie, Zoey, Lina and Kira were standing in Katie's bedroom, looking out the window to the streets below. In the streets, you could see countless numbers of Nates milling about. The four girls all turned to look to each other. "…Somehow, Illuminoct has to be behind the vast number of yo-kai transformed into duplicates of Nate," Kira remarked as she gently shook her head.

"What are we going to do?!" Lina asked, clearly worried.

"Don't worry," Zoey said as she flipped through the witch's journal, "There's a recipe for an antidote to the love potion recipe. According to the journal, if a yo-kai consumed some of the love potion intended for a human, all we have to do is make some of the antidote and have the yo-kai drink it, then all of the transformed yo-kai will turn back to normal."

After a few minutes spent gathering all of the ingredients and making up the antidote, Zoey said, "Good, we got the antidote ready. Now all we have to do is get Illuminoct to drink it."

"But how are we going to tell which one of the many, many Nates is Illuminoct?" Lina asked.

"Pfft," Kira said as she pulled out the yo-kai medal for Illuminoct, "I got this." After putting the medal for Illuminoct into her Yo-kai Watch, Kira summoned her transformed yo-kai friend to Katie's bedroom. After Nate-Illuminoct appeared in Katie's bedroom, landing on his butt, he looked around at the girls who were in the room.

Spotting Kira, Nate-Illuminoct said, "Sup, Kira?"

Handing the antidote to the transformed yo-kai, Zoey said, "Drink this." After a confirming nod from Kira, Nate-Illuminoct took the antidote from Zoey and drank it. After hunching over and moaning a bit, Illuminoct turned back to normal. Looking out the window, the girls saw all of the many, many Nates turn back into various yo-kai.

"The Nate-ocalypse has come to an end, thank goodness," Kira said.

"Yeah," Katie remarked, "I guess this means that trying to use a love potion to get Nate to like me wasn't the best idea in the world."

"Well in your defense," Kira began to say to Katie, "Your plan would have worked if it hadn't been for Illuminoct being…"

"Illuminoct?" Lina asked.

"A total idiot, yes," Kira replied. ~Fin

* * *

Back in the black room, Illuminoct, still sitting in the plush armchair and wearing his suit, looked up from the book he had to regard the viewers. "…Me oh my, you must have the courage of a truly heroic hero if you're still here after not one, but _two_ tales of terrifyingly terrifying terror," Illuminoct remarked in a tone of mildly subdued surprise.

Looking back down to his book, Illuminoct flipped the page before looking back up to the viewers. "If you truly wish to put your courage to the test," Illuminoct went on, "Then you should stick around. I have enough time to tell one more story before I have to retire for the evening. Let us see if you possess as much mettle as you think."

* * *

(Some stories of past Halloweens)

One Halloween morning in Uptown Springdale, Lily Adams got together with Rebecca Forester, Sarah Archer and Gilda Bernstein for something over at Sarah's family's house. The four mothers were socializing as they got various Halloween-related things together. "You're handing out XL-sized cookies-n'-cream chocolate bars to trick-or-treaters?" Gilda remarked to Sarah in a surprised tone, "Dang, girl. You're going all out!"

"Well it certainly wouldn't do if all the kids got tonight were those little mini bars," Sarah replied, "In fact, I always make sure to sneak a few big bars like that into Eddie's bag. It's a little something that I do to make sure my son has an enjoyable Halloween."

"You mentioning making sure that your son has an enjoyable Halloween reminds me of my own son's first Halloween where he got to go trick-or-treating," Lily said to the Archer matriarch, "There isn't a whole lot out there that's more adorable then an excited three-year-old boy dressed as a fireman getting ready for his first ever trick-or-treating outing."

"Ooh, you got to tell us!" Rebecca remarked as she, Sarah and Gilda all turned their attention to the Adams matriarch.

"Well," Lily replied in a somewhat sly tone, "If you insist…"

(ROUGHLY EIGHT YEARS AGO OR SO)

It was morning in the Adams residence, which was decorated for Halloween. As Lily was checking to make sure that the candy that her husband Aaron was going to hand out was in the bowl, Aaron himself jumped into the living room from around a corner. Wanting to get into the Halloween spirit himself, Aaron got a vampire costume to wear while he handed out candy to trick-or-treaters.

"Ooh, vat to we have here?" the Adams patriarch said as he tried to use a stereotypical vampire accent, "A pretty woman with a lovely neck vor me to sink my vangs into!"

"Eeek, please no!" Lily replied in a mock-frightened tone, clearly playing along with the little game her husband was trying to play and finding amusement in it as well. Aaron then proceeded to playfully start chasing Lily around, with Lily laughing with amusement all the while. However, after about a minute or so of the playing around, Aaron stopped mid-chase when he felt something, or rather some _one_ , ram into his legs, nearly making him stumble.

Both Aaron and Lily turned to see three-year-old Nate, wearing his fireman costume, looking up at his dad with a mad look on his face. "You leave my mommy alone, vampire!" Nate said, attempting to be both demanding and intimidating but being much cuter instead. The three-year-old Adams boy bend down, picked up a play pail full of water, and splashed it all over his father's left pants leg while shouting, "Firefighting!"

"Nate, sweetie, that's your dad," Lily pointed out to her very young son.

Looking freaked out, Nate exclaimed, "Dad turned into a vampire?!"

"No son," Aaron replied in an understanding tone. Taking out the plastic vampire fangs he had in his mouth, Aaron explained, "I'm simply dressed up as a vampire for Halloween. Your mother and I were just playing a little game is all."

"…Am I in trouble?" the three-year-old Adams boy asked, a worried look on his face.

"No, I wouldn't say so," Aaron replied as he got down on his knee. Gently laying a hand on his young son's shoulder, Aaron said, "You legitimately thought that your mother was being attacked by an actual vampire, and you acted accordingly. No one can fault you for that." Giving Nate's shoulder a light pat, Aaron added, "Plus, I guess this means that firefighters are heroes in more ways than one. They fight both fires and vampires. That's pretty cool."

Nate giggled cutely as his father praised him. Seeing this moment between father and son, Lily could not help but giggle a bit herself. That son of hers truly is precious, isn't he?

(FLASHBACK OVER)

"After I assured Nate for the fifth time that he wasn't in any trouble, I took him trick-or-treating," Lily said to her friends, "He had an absolute ball, let me tell you."

After the four mothers all laughed in amusement due to the story Lily just finished telling, Rebecca said, "Ooh, since we're on the subject, you girls wanna hear the story of Katie's first Halloween where she was old enough to go trick-or-treating?"

"Do it!" Gilda replied, her tone, and the looks on Lily's and Sarah's faces, clearly showing eagerness to hear another adorable tale.

"Well here I go," Rebecca said as she began her tale, "And trust me, this one is going to be really good. And by really good I mean really adorable…"

(ROUGHLY EIGHT YEARS AGO OR SO)

Rebecca was getting a camera ready as her three-year-old daughter Katie stood in front of her. As it was the first Halloween where she would be old enough to go trick-or-treating, Katie was dressed up in an adorable witch costume. At this point in time, Katie had her hair in twin pigtails, one each on both sides of her head.

"Your grandmother is going to love this picture!" Rebecca said after she snapped a quick photo of her young daughter in the witch costume.

"Grandma knows that Katie is good witch, right?" three-year-old Katie asked in a concerned tone, "Because Katie no cook kids in witch cauldrons or use magic to do bad things. Katie take care of kitties and use magic to do good things."

Giggling somewhat in amusement, Rebecca said, "Yes, sweetie, your grandmother knows that you're a good witch." After putting the camera away, Rebecca turned to regard her young daughter and said, "Now Katie, before we go trick-or-treating, what do you think we should bring with us?"

"Flashlight in case it gets dark?" Katie said in a guessing tone.

"That's good," Rebecca replied, "What else?"

"Phone in case bad thing or emergency happen?" Katie half guessed half suggested.

"That's also a very good idea," Rebecca remarked, a bit surprised that she hadn't actually thought of that, "Anything else?"

"Back-up breathing spray for Katie?" the young Forester girl replied in a guessing tone.

"Don't worry, I always carry a spare asthma inhaler for you," Rebecca replied, a bit taken aback by how responsible her daughter is being by recommending things that can come in handy in case of an emergency. The Forester matriarch felt at that moment that the son of her friend Lily Adams wasn't the only smart, responsible child in the Springdale area. Smiling gently, Rebecca said, "Katie, don't worry about anything we may need in case something comes up. I got all of that covered." Giving her three-year-old daughter a gentle tap on the tip of her nose, Rebecca continued, "When I asked you what you thought we should bring, I was kind-of expecting you to say something like an extra bag in case you get a lot of candy."

"Oh!" Katie said, as if she had just remembered something, "Katie also need witch wand!" The three-year-old Forester girl then ran upstairs to her bedroom, where she left her witch's wand that went with her witch costume. As her daughter scampered to get that wand, Rebecca could not help but chuckle to herself in amusement due to how adorable Katie was being.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

The four mothers all laughed in amusement after Rebecca finished her story of Katie's first Halloween where she was old enough to go trick-or-treating. "Ah, the kids are just precious, aren't they?" Rebecca asked rhetorically as she wiped a laughter-induced tear from her eye with her right index finger.

"Yeah, and just think," Lily remarked, "Who knows what kind of stories like this our kids will have when they become parents?"

"Katie better take a picture of her children's first trick-or-treating experiences," Rebecca said, "Because you can bet that I'll be wanting to see them!" ~Fin

* * *

Back in the black room, Illuminoct, still sitting in the chair and still wearing the suit, gently closed the book that he had. Looking up from the book to the viewers, Illuminoct said in a tone of mild surprise, "I see that the lot of you are truly in possession of great courage and formidable constitution, seeing as how you all have listened to not one, not two, but all three of the stories that I have told this evening."

Tossing the book that he had read over the back of the chair he was sitting in, Illuminoct stood up from the chair as the sound of something smashing through a glass window could be heard. "The time for tales is over, I'm afraid," Illuminoct said to the viewers, "But do not worry, children of the night. There will always be more Halloween hauntings to be had. I wish you all an enjoyable Halloween." Bowing respectfully to the viewers, Illuminoct said, "Good night."

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER TWELVE

Author's notes:

As I had previously stated (prior to the edits on 1-24-18), the idea of doing a Halloween chapter for this story never really struck me. But then the matter of Halloween was brought up to me, and after mulling over it for a bit, I came up with this. Hopefully this will be sufficient enough for the readers, as this is technically the first holiday-themed chapter I did for Yo-kai Watch Adventures. Here's hoping that the next holiday-themed chapter will also be worth a read!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter thirteen: Yee haw! Ima go adventuring with some city slickers!

Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl living in the Uptown Springdale area, was over in Blossom Heights, walking out of the Everymart located there. Kira is one of two people who has a Yo-kai Watch, and as such she has befriended a number of yo-kai. In fact, she was currently accompanied by a trio of her closest yo-kai friends, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct. "So, it's like I've been saying this whole time, bros," Illuminoct said to his brothers and Kira, "If we're going to-"

"Hey Illuminoct, hold that thought," Venoct said, cutting his blonde-haired brother off midsentence. Pointing over to something, Venoct said to his group as a whole, "Has that stone statue always been sitting in front of the Blossom Heights Everymart?" Kira and the other Venoct brothers all looked over to see what Venoct was talking about. True to Venoct's word, a stone statue, similar to some of the ones over at the temple in Blossom Heights, was sitting under one of the windows of the store.

"Maybe a vandal stole it from the nearby temple, and decided to leave it here," Shadow Venoct guessed.

"Maybe someone bought that statue, left it in front of the store before heading inside, and forgot to collect it upon leaving," Venoct remarked.

"Maybe it's a yo-kai actively cloaking its presence by disguising itself as a statue," Illuminoct offered. Turning to face Kira, Illuminoct continued, "Kira, bro, dude, you ought to check it."

"Everything's worth a shot in this day and age," Kira said as she popped up the lens of her Yo-kai Watch and proceeded to scan the statue in front of the Everymart. At first, Venoct and Shadow Venoct both thought that their brother was being stupid as per usual. However, both of them instantly changed their tune when the statue in front of the Everymart was enveloped by a poofed up cloud of swirling purple smoke, denoting the statue as a disguised yo-kai.

The yo-kai was a short bipedal lion-dog with eyebrows that resembled little blue flames. He had white fur with a blue belly, green eyes and, on his cheeks, little red swirl marks. He had a green wrapped cloth bundle over his back, and a green sling pouch that hung over his left side. The small white yo-kai, upon noticing that not only were Kira and the Venoct brothers all looking at him, but that he was decloaked as well, had something of a mild freak out that, overall, was actually kind of cute.

"Oh, my swirls!" the lion-dog yo-kai exclaimed in a panicked tone, his accent making him sound like he came from a country-style home in the southern United States, "My disguise has been busted! Oh, I'm in more trouble than a squirrel in a dog park!"

"Umm, excuse me, but would you mind telling me who you are?" Kira asked the small white yo-kai in as kind of a tone as she could manage. Kira's choice in tone seemed to have been a good one, as the yo-kai she had just decloaked seemed to have relaxed a bit.

"My name is Komasan, ma'am," the yo-kai said as he gave his name, "Pardon the intrusion on your time. You see, I came here to the city 'cause I wanna see the sights and see how city slickers deal with the hustle and bustle of city life. I was just resting for a spell in front of this here store, and I didn't want to be a bother to anyone, so I decided to cloak myself with that statue disguise o' mine."

"Oh, so you're just a tourist?" Venoct asked, "Well alright, then."

"Hey Kira," Shadow Venoct said as he turned to face his human friend, "What say you, me and my brothers give Komasan a tour of Springdale? You know, show him around and such, and keep him from making any sort of mistake due to lack of local knowledge. I mean, he seems like a nice enough yo-kai, so we ought to look out for him."

"Yeah, you got a point," Kira admitted, "Plus, I will admit that Komasan looks kind of adorable."

"Well shucks, ma'am, ain't you got a way with words," Komasan remarked in an embarrassed tone as he rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner; the lion-dog yo-kai also blushed in an embarrassed manner as well.

"So Komasan," Kira said, "If you want, the Venoct brothers and I can give you a tour of Springdale, and let you enjoy the Springdale experience."

"I'd love to take you up on that offer, ma'am," Komasan replied, "Sounds to me like I'm going to be having a grand ol' time."

"Hoo boy, ain't that the truth!" Illuminoct said in an accent that was clearly mocking Komasan's accent, "You'll be having more fun than a southern gentleman selling propane and propane accessories, I tell you hwhat!"

"Umm…okay," Komasan replied, unsure of what to make of what Illuminoct just said.

* * *

Kira, the Venoct brothers and Komasan were at the Nom Burger over in Downtown Springdale. "This place is called Nom Burger," Kira said to the little lion-dog yo-kai, "It's a popular eating establishment here in Springdale."

Taking a quick sniff of the air in the restaurant, Komasan said, "Oh, my swirls! It smells like heaven in here!"

Taking a quick sniff of the air in the restaurant, Venoct remarked, "It smells like morbid obesity in here."

"Well we aren't here to buy meat patties placed inside of buns," Kira said to the S-rank yo-kai, "We're here to buy something both colder and sweeter." After walking up to the counter, Kira placed an order with the girl at the counter. After about a minute, Kira returned with some soft-serve ice cream cones. Handing one of the cones to Komasan, Kira said, "This is a popular treat here in Springdale. I figured that since you're here to see the sights, that you might also like getting to sample some of the local cuisine."

"That does sound mighty good," Komasan remarked as he accepted the cone that Kira offered him. Komasan brought the cool, sweet treat up to his mouth, and licked off the top of the ice cream. Upon tasting the confection, Komasan's eyes widened with surprise. "Oh, my swirls!" Komasan exclaimed, "This is one of the tastiest things that I've ever tasted!" Looking up at Kira, Komasan asked, "What did you say that this wonderful food is called again, ma'am?"

With something of an amused smile due to Komasan's reaction, Kira said, "It's called ice cream."

"Well shoot," Komasan remarked as he looked at the wonderful new treat that he had just discovered, "I wish they had this here ice cream stuff out in the country where I come from! This would be just the right pick-me-up on a hot summer day!"

"Wait a minute, Komasan," Venoct said as he and his brothers each enjoyed their own soft serve ice cream cones, "You've never had ice cream before?"

"I can't say that I did, sir," Komasan replied with a gentle head shake in the negative, "Although if I had known that there'd be food this good here in the city, I'd have come here quicker than a pig hearing the dinner bell!"

"Well I'll be danged," Illuminoct said in his tone that mocked Komasan's accent, "I can't believe that there's another person who likes ice cream more than a know nothing know-it-all wife who thinks she can speak fluent Spanish but can't actually speak the language to save her hide, I tell you hwhat!"

"Umm…sure," Komasan replied in a mildly confused tone, "Let's go with that."

* * *

Later, Kira, the Venoct brothers and Komasan were over at Excellent Tower. Everyone was at the very top, getting the breathtaking view of the cityscape. "On the next stop on our Springdale tour," Kira said to Komasan, "We have Excellent Tower! From up here, you can see as far as Springdale extends!"

"Oh, my swirls!" Komasan exclaimed in a shocked tone, "We're up so high! How is building something as tall as this building even possible?!"

"Humans are a lot more creative than what a lot of yo-kai give them credit for," a male voice called out from behind, prompting Kira, the Venoct brothers and Komasan to turn around. As such, they saw Atticus and the Kyubi brothers approach. It had been Atticus who had spoken out. "The Excellent Tower is the result of human ingenuity, dedication, and a lot of money spent on construction," Atticus went on, "And the Excellent Tower isn't the only example of human ingenuity that you'll see."

"Oh, 'sup Atticus?" Kira greeted, "What brings you here?"

"We're here on a job, actually," Kyubi explained, "The gift shop on this floor of the Excellent Tower is the only known place in Springdale that sells a specific piece of merchandise produced by the Springdale Business Center over in Downtown Springdale. The client who hired Atticus, my brothers and I wants to get ahold of that merchandise, but she is sick in bed and unable to come and get it herself."

"Who's the client and what's the merchandise?" Kira asked.

"Katie Forester," Atticus replied, "You know her, right?" After Kira and the Venoct brothers all nodded in the affirmative, Atticus continued, "She wants the new electronic light-up Jibanyan wand that just hit store shelves yesterday. The gift shop here is the only place that hadn't sold out of that new toy yet."

"Wait a minute," Shadow Venoct began, "Isn't Katie's dad the head of the team that's in charge of the department that handles all of the yo-kai merchandise? Couldn't Mr. Forester simply get the toy for Katie himself?"

"It's not as simple as that, I'm afraid," Darkyubi remarked, "Although your logic in that regard is rather sound." With a quick glance at Illuminoct, Darkyubi said when he looked back to Shadow Venoct, "I wish I could say the same about a certain someone else, though."

"Hmm?" Frostail remarked upon noticing Komasan. Pointing to the little lion-dog yo-kai, Frostail said to Kira and the Venoct brothers, "Who might this yo-kai be?"

"Oh, this is Komasan," Kira explained, "The Venoct brothers and I ran into him outside of the Everymart in Blossom Heights. He said that he came here from the country because he wanted to see the sights. Shadow Venoct suggested that we give Komasan a tour, and well…" Holding her arms out at length, Kira said, "…Here we are."

"Oh, you're giving a visiting tourist a tour of Springdale?" Atticus remarked, "Well that's rather nice of you to go so far for someone like that." Casting his line of sight to Komasan, Atticus said, "You couldn't have ended up with a better tour guide, Komasan. Trust me when I say that Kira will have your back."

"Well golly, sir," Komasan replied, "You sure do hold misses Kira here in high regard, don't you?"

"She knows what's she's doing," Atticus said simply, "I have a lot of respect for people who know what they're doing."

"Tell me, Komasan," Kyubi began, "Have you had anything to eat since you got here to Springdale?"

"Well misses Kira here did get me an ice cream cone," Komasan pointed out, "Let me tell you, I ain't ever had anything tastier than that!"

"Well that's a nice enough start," Kyubi remarked, "But you ought to get something else later on. An ice cream cone alone will not be enough to sustain you."

"Yeah, that ice cream was more or less just a little treat," Kira admitted, "I was going to take Komasan out to lunch somewhere else."

"Lunch does sound mighty nice right about now," Komasan said as he turned around and looked up to Kira, "I'm hungrier than a fox in a chicken coop!"

"…Excuse me?" Kyubi said, an offended look on his face, as well as on the faces of his brothers.

"We'll take our leave right now," Kira said somewhat quickly as, sensing the sudden shift in mood, she hurried Komasan and the Venoct brothers towards the elevator, "Hey Atticus, did you find that light-up toy wand for Katie?"

"Yeah," Atticus replied with a nod, "I found one and bought it. It's in my bag as we speak."

"Well the boys here and I will leave you to do your job," Kira said right before she was out of Atticus's earshot. The thirteen-year-old girl who befriends yo-kai shoved her group of four yo-kai into the elevator, went inside with them, pressed a button on the inside of the elevator, and disappeared as the elevator doors closed.

After Kira and her group disappeared, Atticus and the Kyubi brothers turned to regard each other. "A yo-kai who associates with Kira did something to offend me," Darkyubi remarked in a casual, almost conversational tone, "And for once, it's not Illuminoct."

* * *

Later after having gotten lunch somewhere, Kira and the Venoct brothers were walking with Komasan through the residential area of Uptown Springdale. "We're on our way over to the local school, which is called Springdale Elementary," Kira explained to the white lion-dog yo-kai, "Even though the kids who go to that school are off on summer break right now, they still head to the school, mostly because it's the only place in the greater Springdale area with a suitable soccer field."

"What's a soccer field?" Komasan asked in a curious tone.

"It's a field where you play soccer," Illuminoct explained.

"What's soccer?" Komasan asked.

"It's a sport where two teams each try to kick a ball into each other's goal," Venoct replied. This made the little lion-dog yo-kai take pause for a brief moment. However, Komasan soon gathered his thoughts and asked another question.

"Do they have hockey here in the city?" Komasan asked.

"Oh yeah, hockey is a surprisingly big sport among yo-kai," Kira remarked as Komasan's sparked her memory of a conversation she had a while ago. To Komasan, Kira replied, "They do, in fact, have hockey here in the city. But the kids don't have any hockey equipment as far as I know, which is probably why they're playing soccer."

"Well I ain't ever been to a soccer game before," Komasan said, "Heck, I've never even heard of soccer before just now. I'm looking forward to watching it! It sounds more exciting that a square dance held in a barn house!"

"Well hoo dog diggity, we're going to have a southern fried finger licking hoedown of a time, I tell you hwhat!" Illuminoct said in his mocking accent.

Turning to face Illuminoct, Komasan said, "Okay, I'm going to have to ask you to stop that. It's starting to offend me."

Speaking in his normal voice, Illuminoct replied to Komasan, "Your accent makes you sound like a good ol' boy, and it compels me to mock you."

* * *

Over at the soccer game over on the grounds of Springdale Elementary, Kira, the Venoct brothers and Komasan watched as two groups of six kids were playing soccer with each other. The team that Kira and the Venoct brothers were cheering for consisted of Nate, Eddie, Bear, Matt, Andy and Alex, while the other team consisted of Chelsea, Lina, Zoey, Lulu, Megan and Shelly. Looking down to her left where Komasan saw standing, Kira noted with amusement how much Komasan was getting watching the game.

"Wow," Komasan remarked, "It's like that black and white ball is a hockey puck, and their legs are hockey sticks!" Looking up to face Kira, Komasan asked, "How do you win this game?"

"A game of soccer typically lasts for a set amount of time," Kira explained as she tried to put things in simple terms for Komasan's sake, "If your team has more points than the opposing team by the time that the game is over, that means that your team wins the game. To earn points in soccer, you have to kick the soccer ball into the opposing team's goal."

"And I see that there's one person each standing in front of both goals," Komasan noted as he pointed to where Megan was standing in front of her team's goal while Bear stood in front of his team's goal, "I take it that means soccer has goalies like hockey, and that they play a similar role in that they try to keep the opposing team from scoring in their team's goal?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Kira replied, a little amazed by how quickly Komasan was picking up on how soccer worked.

"Well I'll be danged," Komasan said as he turned his attention back to watch the soccer game, "I think that with the right push, soccer may be the next big thing to hit the Yo-kai world!"

"Yeah, I can see how that can work," Venoct remarked, "I mean, given the basic similarities that soccer shares with-"

"YAHOO!" one of the boys cheered, cutting Venoct off in the process and prompting him, his brothers, Kira and Komasan to turn to face the soccer game. They all saw that one of Bear's teammates must have scored a goal, and Matt and Andy were both high-fiving each other.

"From the looks of it, I'd say that the boys' and Alex's team just won the game," Kira noted in a casual tone, "But then again, since-" Kira was cut off when a loud girly cheer sounded from next to her group, making Kira flinch somewhat more out of surprise than anything else, and prompting Kira and her group to turn to see who it was. To Kira's mild surprise, she and her group were next to Inaho Misora, a girl that she had recently become acquainted with thanks to Eddie, who is dating Inaho.

"Alright!" Inaho cheered as she pumped a fist into the air, "Eddie and his team won!"

"Oh, fancy seeing you here, Inaho," Kira remarked, catching Inaho's attention. When she turned to see who was talking to her, Inaho was surprised to see Kira and her group next to her.

"Oh, hey Kira," Inaho greeted, "You came here to watch the soccer game, too?"

"Actually, the Venoct brothers and I are giving Komasan here a tour of Springdale," Kira explained as she gestured to Komasan, "He's a tourist from the country here to see what things are like here in the city."

"He is so adorable!" Inaho exclaimed upon laying eyes on the little white lion-dog yo-kai.

"Well shucks, ma'am," Komasan remarked in an embarrassed tone, "I didn't know I'd be such a big shot here in the city." Looking up at Inaho, Komasan said in a curious tone, "Say ma'am, what's with those fancy little windows you got over your eyes there?"

A look of mild confusion on her face, Inaho gently took her glasses off and held them as she said, "You mean my glasses? My vision is normally a bit fuzzy, and wearing these helps me see things in a non-fuzzy manner."

"Well I'll be danged," Komasan remarked in a mildly impressed tone, "I know quite a few people like that back home who could use something like that. They're all as blind as bats."

"Wait a minute," Venoct said as he turned to regard Komasan, "They don't have glasses back where you come from?"

"I can't say that they do, sir," Komasan replied honestly to the S-rank yo-kai.

With a look on his face that was eight parts 'what?!' and two parts confused, Venoct continued, "What else do they not have back where you come from?"

…

Kira, the Venoct brothers and Inaho spent the next few minutes listing and describing various things off to Komasan, and asking him if such things exist back in the country where he comes from. "Alright then," Venoct began, "Let me see if I have this perfectly straight. They have television, radio, refrigerators, bicycles, running utilities and automobiles back in the country where you come from, but they don't have ice cream, glasses, computers, video games, soccer and books. Is that it? Do I have everything perfect straight?"

"The one book we did have we ended up having to burn in a fire for warmth in the Winter since it was really cold," Komasan remarked, "But other than that, yeah, you hit the nail right on the head for everything."

With a somewhat resigned look on his face, Venoct commented, "Well, at least that's a far better reason to burn a book than any other reason that I've ever heard."

"Hey Inaho! Kira! Venoct brothers!" Eddie's voice called out, prompting everyone to turn and face Eddie as he came walking over with Nate and Bear. Seeing Komasan standing next to the group, Eddie said in a friendly tone, "Who do we have here?"

"I'm Komasan, sir," the lion-dog yo-kai said as he greeted the human boys, "I'm here from the country to take a tour of the city, and miss Kira and her friends here were kind enough to be my tour guides."

"Hey, get this," Venoct said to the human boys, "Apparently, they don't have ice cream, glasses, computers, video games, soccer or books where Komasan comes from."

"They don't have soccer?!" Eddie nearly exclaimed in a mildly shocked tone.

"They don't have ice cream?!" Bear remarked, his tone similar to that of Eddie's.

"They don't have books?!" Nate asked, his tone matching that of Bear's and Eddie's. Upon hearing what Nate had just said, Bear turned to face the Adams boy and give him a 'really?' kind of look.

"We don't have none of that, I'm afraid," Komasan replied to Nate, Eddie and Bear.

"How can you not have books?" Nate asked, "Don't you at least have text books for school? What else are you going to study out of when you're in math class?"

"What's a math class?" Komasan asked, a confused and lost look on his face.

"TAKE ME WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO BACK!" Bear exclaimed as he fell to his knees and took Komasan's hands into his.

* * *

Later, Kira, the Venoct brothers, Komasan, Nate, Eddie and Bear were all over at Nate's family's house. There was a small pile of books sitting on the sofa next to where Komasan sat. Some were school books for studying out of, while others were books read for fun. "Well I'll be danged" Komasan said as he held a math book in a way that conveyed that the lion-dog yo-kai was having trouble understanding what he was holding, "I ain't ever seen anything like this here math book before back in the country."

"I have no idea where exactly 'the country' is located, but I want to move there," Bear remarked as he and the others watched Komasan check out the books.

"You know, Komasan," Nate said, "These are all actually copies of books that I already have. If you want, you can take all of these with you when you head back to where you live."

"Well golly, sir, that's the most generous thing I ever did hear," Komasan remarked as he looked up to Nate. Getting up off of the sofa, Komasan continued, "When it gets to the Winter months, these books will come in mighty handy as fuel for the fire to keep me warm!"

As Nate started acting like he was getting woozy, his mother Lily walked by on her way to the kitchen. "Oh Nate, are you okay, sweetie?" Lily remarked upon noticing how her son was looking slightly light-headed.

"Komasan said something that caught him a bit by surprise is all, Mrs. A," Kira remarked as she gestured to Komasan.

"Oh, well ain't he a cutie," Lily remarked as she saw the little white yo-kai, "I bet that he and Jibanyan would be great friends!"

"Speaking of, where is Jibanyan?" Venoct asked, "I'd figured that we'd see him around here."

"Aaron and the team he belongs to over at the Springdale Business Center borrowed Jibanyan for a photo shoot today," Lily explained with a mildly bemused look on her face, "Apparently, they need him to make just the right smile so they can take a picture of his face like that and smack it onto a toy kiddy oven or something like that."

"Well at least we know where he's at," Kira remarked. Turning to regard Nate, Kira said with some concern in her tone, "Hey little dude, you okay?"

"Burning books," Nate muttered to himself, sounding as if he were about to pass out due to sheer shock, "Please no."

Shaking his head mildly, Bear remarked with a hint of mild disappointment in his tone, "You are one of the biggest nerds that I've ever known, Nate."

* * *

Over in Downtown Springdale, Kira and the Venoct brothers were seeing Komasan off as he was getting ready to take a train ride back to where he lived. "Well shoot, Kira," Komasan said, "I had the best time in the world today thanks to you. I never had any idea that city life had so much to offer a feller."

"Feel free to come by anytime, Komasan," Kira replied, "It'd be great to have you over! Just be sure not to mention burning books around Nate."

Nodding once, Komasan said, "Maybe next time I'm in the city, I'll get me a soccer ball so I can take it back with me and introduce the sport back in the country where I come from! Heck, I'm mighty tempted to get me a pair of those fancy little windows to wear in front of my eyes! Those little windows are one of the coolest things I ever did see, let me tell you!" Komasan turned around and took a few steps forward, but he stopped short suddenly. "Oh, my swirls!" Komasan exclaimed. Turning back around, Komasan rushed back over to Kira. "I plum near forgot to give this to you to say thanks for showing me around the city," Komasan said as took out and handed his yo-kai medal over to Kira.

"Sweet, thanks!" Kira remarked as she accepted Komasan's yo-kai medal.

As Komasan began to turn back around, everyone heard a familiar voice call out, "Oh, fancy seeing you here, Kira!" Kira, the Venoct brothers and Komasan all turned to see Aaron Adams come walking over.

"Oh, 'sup Mr. A," Kira greeted, "What are you up to?"

"Oh, I just got off of work, so I was heading home," Aaron replied, "I was going to see if Lily wanted to-" Aaron stopped short upon noticing Komasan standing between Kira and Shadow Venoct. "…Hey Kira," Aaron began. Pointing to Komasan, Aaron continued, "Who's your little friend here?"

"This is Komasan," Kira explained, "He's a yo-kai from out in the country who came here to see the city sights. The Venoct brothers and I were seeing him off right now, and he actually gave me his yo-kai medal just a few seconds before you showed up." Giving the Adams patriarch a curious look, Kira continued, "Why do you ask?"

Aaron didn't say anything to Kira. Rather, he pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number up quickly. Aaron held the phone up to the side of his head, and after a few seconds, the other end must have picked up because Aaron said, "Jason? It's me, Aaron. Listen." Turning back around to face Komasan, Aaron said into his phone, "I just found another new face for our company's line of merchandise."

"Begging your pardon, sir?" Komasan said as he looked up at the Adams patriarch, a confused look on his face.

* * *

Sometime later, Kira and the Venoct brothers were watching an animated show on the TV in the living room of the house where Kira lived with her grandmother over in Uptown Springdale. "We now return to _The Adventures of Jibanyan_ ," a voice on the currently running show said. The scene on the TV shifted to a courtroom scenario where the animated version of Jibanyan was apparently on trial for some reason.

Representing the animated Jibanyan as his lawyer was the newest character introduced to the show, the animated version of Komasan. The animate version of Komasan was dressed in a white suit with a red tie, wearing a pair of black dress shoes, a white cowboy hat with a black band around the base (a perfectly square cut rhinestone was set in the middle of the front), and a pair of horn-rimmed glasses.

"Now, I may not be a big-city lawyer like the gentlemen representing the plaintiff," the animated version of Komasan began, "But even I know that there's no way for any yo-kai to get into the vault room that my client Mr. Jibanyan is being accused of breaking into without one of those fancy code cards that's needed to unlock the dang ol' thing! Now how do you suppose my client Mr. Jibanyan is supposed to get his paws on one of them code cards, mmm?"

In the living room as he, his brothers and Kira were watching the cartoon, Venoct turned to face Kira and said, "Didn't you say that the team producing this animated show used to push the company's yo-kai merchandise gave Komasan's character glasses at Komasan's request?"

"I will admit that it kind of fits with the character that Komasan is playing," Kira remarked in a manner that gave Illuminoct's question an affirmative response, "Although I personally wound have given Komasan's character a different outfit."

"Hey Kira, quick question," Venoct began, "Since you're responsible for Komasan the way Nate is responsible for Jibanyan, does that mean that we're going to be seeing a lot more money around here?"

"Yeah, but my grandmother is going to be handling that stuff for us," Kira replied. Standing up, Kira said, "I mean, we _are_ still in the business of helping others out by handling their yo-kai related problems for them, aren't we?" Although his scarf hid the lower half of his face, you could tell by the slight shift in Venoct's expression that the S-rank yo-kai was smiling.

"I never saw any sign of us getting out of the business, no," Venoct replied as he himself also stood up, "Besides, if we do get out of the business, then Atticus and the Kyubi brothers will have a monopoly on it. We can go and have that now, can we? Not to mention the fact that we can't let ourselves go idle." Jerking a thumb over his shoulder to point out his blonde-haired brother, Venoct continued, "Can you imagine what Illuminoct would do if he had nothing to keep himself occupied?"

"I don't want to even think about that," Kira replied in a way that joked that Illuminoct would probably cause some sort of trouble if he wasn't kept busy. This drew a chuckle out of Venoct.

"So yeah," Venoct said, "Unless you say that we're backing out of the business, then I don't see why we should stop."

"Yeah, we're going to continue going along with the business as is," Kira stated, "We've been going strong for two years so far, after all."

"Heck yeah!" Illuminoct cheered as he pumped both fists into the air. Shadow Venoct, for his part, merely nodded in agreement with what his human friend said.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Author's Notes:

Although this chapter isn't as long as some of the other chapters in this story (so far), I think that this chapter did a fairly good job at introducing Komasan to the 'Yo-kai Watch Adventures' setting. Speaking of introducing things to the setting of this story, I'm thinking about bringing in something (or some _one_ ) else in the next chapter. What I'll end up doing, I don't quite yet know. What I do know is that, if I have anything to say about it, it'll be worth at least a chuckle or two.

Update 11-17-17: Sorry if anyone was expecting the next chapter last week, but I had to update another one of my stories that I hadn't updated in a while. Chapter fourteen should be up today.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter fourteen: A legendary encounter

Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl living in the Uptown Springdale area, was in the dining area of the house where she lived with her grandmother, having breakfast. Kira is one of two people who befriends yo-kai, and as such, three of Kira's yo-kai friends, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, were having breakfast with her. Kira's grandmother, Sophia, was glad for the extra company, as she enjoyed having a full house to look after.

"Hey Kira," Venoct began as he, his brothers, Kira and Kira's grandmother enjoyed breakfast, "Did you get Komasan to write that apology letter to the Kyubi brothers yet?"

"No, not yet," Kira replied with a gentle head shake in the negative, "Because before I can get Komasan to write that apology letter, he has to learn how to write properly first."

"Wait a minute," Shadow Venoct began in a mildly surprised tone, "Komasan doesn't know how to write?"

"Not properly," Kira clarified, "Luckily for us, Arachnus has a thing for writing, so I'm thinking about asking him to tutor Komasan in writing."

"Oh yeah," Venoct remarked in a mildly amused casual tone, "Arachnus has such a talent when it comes to writing, that many in the yo-kai world consider letters written by Arachnus to be great treasures worthy of being displayed in museums." Turning to face his human friend more directly, Venoct continued, "Do you still have the letter Arachnus sent you when we were all called to that meeting on Flatpot Planes?"

"Actually, yeah," Kira replied, "It's in a folder on the bookshelf in my bedroom."

"Arachnus's letters truly are well-worded records," Shadow Venoct remarked, "As for letters written by Toadal Dude, well…Granted, Toadal Dude is competent enough of a writer that he could also tutor Komasan, but Toadal Dude's choice of wording when it comes to writing isn't as…eloquent as Arachnus's."

"Hey guys," Illuminoct said, "I think that Toadal Dude's way of writing, as well as speaking, makes him sound like the wisest of sages."

"He talks like a stereotypical surfer dude," Venoct pointed out, "And he also uses stereotypical surfer dude lingo in his writing." Turning back to face his breakfast, Venoct said, "I think that speaks for itself, Ill-"

"Hey look, everyone," Sophia remarked in a casual tone, cutting Venoct off in the process, as she pointed to something that was happening outside the living room window, "It's snowing."

"Snow?" Kira said in a confused tone as she and the Venoct brothers got up from the table to go look out the living room window. What Kira and her yo-kai friends saw was true; it was currently snowing. During summer break. Given the bizarre weather that was happening right now, Kira came to one conclusion, and she came to it rather quickly.

"A yo-kai is behind this," Kira remarked in a knowing tone, the Venoct brothers all nodding in agreement with their human friend.

"We ought to head outside and investigate this summer time snow," Venoct said.

"Let me bundle up first, at least," Kira replied, "Humans aren't as resistant to the weather as yo-kai, you know."

* * *

Outside in the snow-covered Uptown Springdale, Kira, wearing a blue hooded jacket and a pair of pants, looked around. As Kira and the Venoct brothers looked around, they heard a familiar male voice call out, "Oi, Kira! Venoct brothers!" Kira and her yo-kai friends turned to see Atticus, the other person besides Kira who befriends yo-kai, come walking up. With Atticus at the time were Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi.

Kira also looked at what Atticus was wearing for the Uptown Springdale's current colder climate; a pair of pants, a black jacket with zigzag patterns on both of the jacket's sides (the jacket's sleeves ended at around Atticus's elbows), and a white scarf with black lines forming square patterns that almost resembled scales; the scarf had fringes on both ends. To Kira, Atticus asked, "I don't suppose that either you or any of the Venoct brothers have any idea as to what's going on with this snow, do you?"

Gently shaking her head in the negative, Kira replied, "I'm afraid that we're just as stumped as you. Heck, we saw this right as we were having breakfast with my grandmother!"

"Yeah, my grandaunt told me about how she saw it snowing from the living room window right after I got out from taking a shower," Atticus remarked. Looking around, Atticus said, "This has to be the work of a yo-kai, most likely one who is a powerful ice-attribute yo-kai."

"Like Frostail?" Illuminoct suggested as he pointed to Frostail.

"… _Besides_ Frostail, you idiot," Darkyubi snapped at the blonde-haired S-rank yo-kai.

"Hey, don't blame me for jumping to obvious conclusions," Illuminoct defended, "When people talk of a certain description for a yo-kai, and a yo-kai who just so happens to match that description is standing right in front of me, it's pretty hard to resist the urge to suggest that the-"

"Hey Kira! Atticus!" a younger male voice called out, prompting the two thirteen-year-olds and their respective yo-kai friends to turn and see Nate, Eddie, Bear and Jibanyan come running up to them, each dressed for colder weather. It had been Nate who called out.

"Oh, what's up, little dudes?" Kira greeted.

"There's a bunch of snow," Jibanyan remarked.

"How did all of this snow appear?" Nate asked, "I mean, it's summer. It normally doesn't snow in the summer."

"That's what we're about to go about investigating," Kira replied, "Atticus, the Venoct brothers, the Kyubi brothers and I were going to-"

"Hey Atticus!" a young female voice called out, getting everyone to turn and face Katie Forester as she came running up to the group, dressed for the snow.

"What's wrong, Katie?" Atticus asked.

"You know about the entrance to the alleyway located near the Fish Market?" Katie asked, "Well, there are some wall-like yo-kai blocking both ends of the road that leads to that alleyway, effectively cutting that area off."

"Excuse me?" Atticus said as he, Kira, the boys and the yo-kai all turned to face Katie.

"Both the end of that road located near my place," Katie began to explain, "As well as the end located next to the Fish Market itself, are being blocked off by wall-like yo-kai. They even blocked off the third way to that alleyway that involves going past Banter Bakery."

Turning to face everyone else, Kira said, "Alright, let's put checking out the cause behind the snow on the backburner for the time being so we can focus on the yo-kai blocking off that one alleyway entrance located near the Fish Market."

"Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the yo-kai blocking off that alleyway have something to do with the snow that's happening right now?" Kyubi remarked as he and everyone else ran to go check things out over where Katie said yo-kai were blockading an entire section of road in Uptown Springdale.

* * *

When the humans and the yo-kai arrived at the blocked-off section of road located near Katie's house, they saw a trio of Impasses standing in the road, blocking it off. "Huh, it's a trio of Impasses," Kira remarked in a casual tone, "I guess that Katie's description of 'wall-like yo-kai' was right on the money."

"And I'm willing to bet that the other two roads that lead to the entrance of that alleyway located near the Fish Market are also being blocked off by multiple Impasses," Atticus said in a tone that made him sound sure of himself, "We might even see a Walldin."

"What are you and your fellows doing blocking off all access to that alleyway?" Kyubi asked the three Impasses that stood before him and the others.

"No one is allowed to get anywhere near that alleyway," the middle Impass stated in a matter-of-factly tone, "No ifs, ands or buts."

"Can you at least explain why you're blocking an entire section of Uptown Springdale off?" Venoct asked, "If we're given an explanation at the very least, then-"

"No explanation is allowed to be given," the Impass on the right of the group interrupted, "That is the order we were given."

"So," Atticus began, "Not only are you guys blocking off an entire section of Uptown Springdale, but you refuse to explain why you're doing so."

"To be honest, I was never told why we have to block off that alleyway," the left most Impass remarked, "I was just told to stay here and let no one get pass."

"We're going to have to ask you all to leave and allow our group's work in that alleyway to continue," the middle Impass stated, "You all can go through this area once our group is done with its work here."

The group of humans and yo-kai backed off, but out of sight of the Impasses, they had a group huddle. "…This is suspicious," Kira said, "I say we make our way pass the Impasses and check out that alleyway to see what the hell is going on."

"How do you figure we do that?" Bear asked.

"My posse and I will stay near the Impasses near Katie's place," Kira said, "Meanwhile, Atticus and his posse will work their magic on the Impasses or whatever other yo-kai are blocking off the way near the Fish Market." To Nate, Katie, Eddie, Bear and Jibanyan, Kira said, "As for you guys, you try and do something with the yo-kai blocking off the area close to Banter Bakery."

After everyone nodded in agreement with their roles in the plan, Kira said, "Alright everyone, let's get to it!"

* * *

The three Impasses blocking off the road near Katie's place were merely standing there, doing their job that was assigned to them. As they waited around, they heard someone call out, "Octo Snake!" Suddenly, and to their surprise, the three Impasses were hit multiple times each, just before they saw the Venoct brothers come into focus.

"Alright boys," Kira said, "Focus your efforts on one Impass at a time! Once one of them goes down, we can move on to the next-" Kira stopped short when she saw the three Impasses surrounded by a green aura; suddenly, all of their injuries were healed.

"Ha!" the middle Impass said in a bragging tone, "Did you seriously think that our group wouldn't be prepared for the possibility of someone trying to force their way pass us? Not only are we ready for that, but we also got yo-kai who can heal us safely behind us! There's no way that anyone can force their way past our combination of defense and healing!"

"…Clever girl," Illuminoct remarked, sounding both annoyed and impressed at the same time.

* * *

Meanwhile, Atticus and his yo-kai friends were working on forcing their way pass two Impasses and a Walldin that were blocking off the area of the road near the Fish Market. After Frostail hit the three wall-like yo-kai with his strongest technique, Arctic Abyss, the three Kyubi brothers proceeded to try and take out the yo-kai blocking their way, beginning with the Walldin.

"Okay, guys," Atticus said, "That Walldin looks like it's almost defeated. Continue to push it until-" Atticus stopped midsentence when not only was the Walldin surrounded by the green light of healing powers, but the two Impasses as well. "…I should have seen this coming," the thirteen-year-old boy remarked in an annoyed tone, snapping his fingers as a new roadblock in taking out the blockades just popped up.

"Ha!" the Walldin laughed, "You can't take us out because of the healing yo-kai hiding behind us, and you can't get to them until you take us out! There's no way you'll be able to get past us!"

"If Illuminoct had this much intelligence when it came to anything," Darkyubi remarked, "I would be nowhere near as annoyed with him as I usually am."

* * *

Over where the yo-kai were blocking off the area of road near Banter Bakery, Nate, Katie, Eddie and Bear watched as Jibanyan tried to take out one of the Impasses by scratching him repeatedly. Not only was this doing very little damage, but all of the damage that Jibanyan was actually being able to inflict was healed by yo-kai hiding behind the Impasses.

"Hey, that's no fair!" Jibanyan complained, "How are we going to get pass you guys if you keep on healing faster than I can hit you?!"

"You're not supposed to get pass us," the middle Impass said, "No one is supposed to get to that alleyway. Why else do you think we're stationed here?"

"You know, you guys blocking off this area is going to agitate a lot of the people living in the Uptown Springdale area," Nate pointed out, "They're going to want all you guys to move out of the way."

"Well they can just wait until we're done here," the left most Impass said, arms crossed over his chest, "This matter is not up for debate."

"…You guys are jerks," Bear remarked casually to the three wall-like yo-kai.

* * *

Back to where Kira and her yo-kai friends were trying to force their way pass the Impasses, Kira stood by while Arachnus used ranged elemental earth attacks to strike at one of the Impasses that was standing in front of them. Meanwhile, Arachnia and Swelterrier were attacking the same Impass with physical strikes and ranged elemental fire attacks respectively.

However, as it was with the Venoct brothers, not only was the damage being inflicted by Arachnus, Arachnia and Swelterrier not going anywhere too fast, but it was being healed by the yo-kai hiding behind the three Impasses.

"This isn't getting us anywhere, Kira," Arachnia said as he continued to strike at the Impass that he and the others were trying to take out.

"Well it's not like we have a lot of other options to work with here," Kira replied, "I just need you, Arachnus and Swelterrier to keep going! Hopefully the Impasses will get tired of this little back-and-forth dance long before we do!"

"Ha! As if!" the middle Impass facing Kira and her yo-kai friends laughed, "My fellows and I can keep this up all day!" Kira growled in an annoyed tone as she and her yo-kai friends kept up their assault on the Impasses that stood before them.

* * *

Meanwhile near the Fish Market, Atticus was working with Toadal Dude, Uber Geeko and Hornaplenty against the two Impasses and the one Walldin. Toadal Dude and Hornaplenty were both bashing their physical attacks against the Walldin while Uber Geeko stood back and struck it with ranged elemental fire attacks.

"Okay," Atticus remarked as he saw his yo-kai friends make some degree of progress against the three wall-like yo-kai, "It seems switching to a primarily physical-focused assault against the two Impasses and the Walldin seems to be having some-" Atticus stopped short when he saw all of the damage that Toadal Dude, Uber Geeko and Hornaplenty had inflicted was being healed.

"Dude!" Toadal Dude exclaimed in an annoyed tone as he saw the progress that he and his fellows were making being undone, "That's totally bogus, bro!"

"Deal with it," the Walldin said, "No one is supposed to get pass us! Can't you guys just wait until our group is done here and we leave on our own?"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Atticus replied with a growl as his yo-kai friends continued their assault.

* * *

Over where the three Impasses near Banter Bakery were standing guard, they relaxed a bit, as the four kids and one yo-kai that was bothering them left. As they stood around, they saw something turn the corner; it was Bear, riding his bike at full speed while shouting at the top of his lungs. To the shock of the three Impasses, it looked like Bear was going to try and ram into them.

"I'm a champion!" Bear yelled as he rode up quickly to the middle Impass, crashing into it with as much force as he could have managed. While Bear fell back, the Impass that he hit stumbled back a bit but did not fall over. After regaining its bearings, the middle Impass quickly got back to where he stood, and was soon immediately healed by the yo-kai hiding behind him and the other two Impasses.

Getting up off of the ground, Bear picked up his bike and began to push it as he walked away weakly. "Well there goes my plan," Bear remarked as he walked away, partly using his bike for support to keep from falling over.

* * *

The three groups trying to force their way past the yo-kai blockade met up with each other, deciding to regroup right in front of Banter Bakery to check on progress with each other. "Well my posse and I have been having no luck in taking out our share of the blockade," Kira said, a disappointed scowl over her face.

"You aren't the only ones who have failed so far," Nate stated, "Jibanyan alone isn't having any luck at all in taking out one of those wall yo-kai, and Bear tried to ram his bike into one of them, by that failed too."

"I'm still a champion," Bear stated as he held up his right index finger.

"You know what," Atticus growled in a mildly irritated tone as he stood up, "Forget this noise!" Atticus then turned to walk away, the Kyubi brothers following him.

"Is…is he okay?" Katie asked, a hint of concern in her tone.

"The challenge we've been presented with, although not overly hard, is taking forever due to the challenge's massive defense coupled with well-guarded healers," Kira explained, "I know very little about Atticus, but I do know that he doesn't like it if a challenge he's presented with is taking forever for him to get over."

"What do you think he's going to do?" Eddie asked.

Shaking her head gently, Kira said, "No clue, little dude. No clue at all." Kira, the Venoct brothers, Jibanyan, the boys and Katie continued to try and brainstorm an idea on how to get past one of the yo-kai blockades. As they planned, Atticus came back to Banter Bakers; this time, Kyubi and Toadal Dude were following him.

"Where are the other Kyubi brothers?" Kira asked as she regarded the thirteen-year-old boy who befriends yo-kai.

"I swapped Frostail and Darkyubi, along with Uber Geeko and Hornaplenty, out of my team for the time being," Atticus explained, "I figured that a problem like this requires a lot more power than what we've been throwing at it so far."

"A lot more power than two of the Kyubi brothers, Uber Geeko and Hornaplenty?" Venoct replied in a confused tone, "What are you talking about?"

"Follow us and you'll see," Kyubi replied before he and Toadal Dude turned to follow Atticus over to where they were originally trying to take out the yo-kai blockade. Curious, Kira and the others all got up to follow Atticus and his posse of yo-kai.

…

Atticus, Kyubi and Toadal Dude stood before the two Impasses and one Walldin that they were trying to take out beforehand. When Kira and the rest of the group showed up to see what Atticus was up to, the Walldin said, "Ha! You're back to try again? Have you learned nothing?"

Saying nothing, Atticus took a yo-kai medal out. Venoct and his brothers caught the gleam of a medal color that was not the silvery gleam of a regular yo-kai's medal, or the golden gleam of a rare yo-kai's medal. "Wait a minute," Venoct said in an apprehensive tone, "Is Atticus going to summon what I think he's going to summon?"

"Venoct? What's wrong?" Kira asked, but before her yo-kai friend could explain, Atticus put the yo-kai medal he took out into his Yo-kai Watch.

"Come on out, my friend!" Atticus declared as he put the yo-kai medal into his Yo-kai Watch, "Calling Shogunyan! Yo-kai medal, do your thing!" Suddenly, and with much fanfare with trumpets in the background playing music that sounds when a mighty and heroic person comes onto the scene, a nekomata yo-kai with dark blusih fur appeared, wearing light blue samurai armor and carrying a katana.

The Venoct brother all took a step back out of a mix of mild fear, respect and reverence to the yo-kai that Atticus just summoned. Even Illuminoct, who normally can't read the situation all that well, knew full well the severity of the situation. "Yeah, he did it, alright," Venoct remarked with a hint of nervousness in his tone, "Atticus summoned a legendary yo-kai."

"Legendary yo-kai?" Kira said in a confused tone, "What's a legendary yo-kai?"

"Legendary yo-kai are extraordinarily revered yo-kai afforded the greatest of respect by all other yo-kai," Venoct explained to his human friend, the nervousness in his tone never faltering, "They are also among the strongest yo-kai to ever exist." Turning to face where Atticus stood with Kyubi, Toadal Dude and Shogunyan, Venoct continued, "The fact that Atticus actually managed to befriend a legendary yo-kai is nothing short of miraculous. Also, the fact that Atticus is resorting to using a legendary yo-kai to try and break his way through the yo-kai blockade means that he's clearly lost his temper."

"Atticus actually lost his temper?" Kira said with a surprised look on her face, "Wow, that's a-"

"Bonito Blade!" Shogunyan exclaimed as he flew forward at the two Impasses and one Walldin, slashing the air in front of him multiple times, resulting in the three wall-like yo-kai all taking serious hits. After he finished carrying out his technique, Shogunyan leapt forward and struck out at the Walldin three times with his sword, knocking out the rare wall-like yo-kai. This was followed by Kyubi and Toadal Dude each taking out one of the two Impasses that remained, finally breaking through one of the blockades.

When the Walldin and the two Impasses poofed away in swirling clouds of purple smoke, two Betterflies and a Nurse Tongus could be seen, having hidden behind the now defeated wall-like yo-kai. "One of the blockades has fallen!" the Nurse Tongus exclaimed in a panic as she and the two Betterflies fled towards one of the other blockades that hadn't fallen yet, "We're in trouble!"

After the three healing yo-kai fled, Atticus crossed his arms over his chest. "Feh," Atticus scoffed in an annoyed tone, "About time we broke through one of the blockades." Turning to face everyone else, Atticus continued, "Let's go check out that alleyway and see why all of those yo-kai were trying so hard to keep it blocked off."

"Right," Kira said as she and everyone else proceeded to follow Atticus, Kyubi, Toadal Dude and Shogunyan to the alleyway located near the Fish Market.

* * *

Inside of the alleyway, the humans and the yo-kai looked around to try and see if they could find what those yo-kai forming the blockade were trying to hide. Within short order, they came across a Blizarria laying on the ground, her head propped up on a pile of folded clothing that were clearly tossed out and was clearly gathered from random places. Both Venoct and Kyubi saw right away that the look on Blizarria's face indicated that she was very much under the weather. A Casanuva was standing next to the downed S-rank yo-kai, trying to heal her.

"Huh, a Blizarria that's very sick," Kyubi remarked as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Well that would certainly explain why it's snowing in the summer." Having heard Kyubi speak, the Casanuva who was tending to Blizarria looked up and saw the guests. Immediately, Casanuva assumed a defensive stance, apparently ready to fight if need be.

"Who are you lot?" Casanuva demanded, "How did you get through the blockade?"

"I got some of my yo-kai friends to beat up two Impasses and a Walldin, but that's beside the point," Atticus replied. Stepping forward, the thirteen-year-old boy continued, "Do you have anything to do with why the blockade was set up in the first place?"

The look on his face clearly showing that he was stuck with no way out of this situation, Casanuva said, "Alright, look. Blizarria here suddenly collapsed due to catching some sort of sickness. I think it's a fever or something. We can't move her with the way she is right now, so we're trying to take care of her here. Some friends of mine and I managed to get that blockade set up because we were worried someone may come along, discover Blizarria while she's down like this, and make things worse."

Curious, Kira and the Venoct brothers walked over to where Blizarria was laying down. Kira and Shadow Venoct both bent down to take a closer look at Blizarria while Venoct and Illuminoct assured Casanuva that Kira and Shadow Venoct weren't going to do anything bad to Blizarria. Getting a close-up look of Blizarria's face, Kira noticed the discolored blushing over her face. Gently, Kira laid the tips of her left-hand fingers on Blizarria's stomach, which elicited a groan of pain from the ice-attribute S-rank yo-kai, and a concerned "Hey!" from Casanuva.

Kira and Shadow Venoct both got up from taking a look at Blizarria and turned to face Casanuva. "Blizarria must had eaten something that was really, really bad," Kira explained, "Because she's clearly got food poisoning."

"Food poisoning?" Casanuva repeated in a confused and concerned tone, "Can anything be done?"

"Not in an alleyway, that's for sure," Shadow Venoct replied. Turning to face Kira, Shadow Venoct asked, "Should we take Blizarria over to your place and look after her there?"

"Her ice powers won't make snow inside of my grandmother's living room, will they?" Kira asked in response.

Shaking his head gently in the negative, Shadow Venoct said, "No, it will only affect climate outside. Inside, things will remain the same."

"Good," Kira said as she instructed Venoct to gently pick up the sick Blizarria and carry her over to her grandmother's place. Kira and Atticus then had everyone in the alleyway back up and out, so as to give Venoct room to carry Blizarria out.

* * *

A few hours later, Blizarria was sleeping peacefully on the sofa in the living room of Kira's grandmother's place. "Well, that medicine your grandmother provided seems to be working like a charm," Venoct remarked to Kira as they, along with Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, watched over the sleeping Blizarria.

"Yeah, it seems to be working," Kira said before turning to look out the window; the snow that was falling earlier had stopped, and the sow that was still on the ground was already starting to melt away. "So, if a yo-kai like Blizarria gets sick, their elemental powers can go haywire," Kira remarked. Turning back to face where Blizarria slept, Kira said, "Good to know."

"Yeah, I'm glad we managed to solve the problem with the snow in the summer," Venoct said, "But that's not the only thing on my mind." Leaning back in the chair he was sitting in, Venoct continued, "Atticus befriended a legendary yo-kai. I knew that he was just as connected to the goings-on of yo-kai as us, but for him to actually befriend a legendary yo-kai? How in the heck did he manage that?!"

"And who's to say that Shogunyan is the only legendary yo-kai that Atticus befriended?" Shadow Venoct added, "There's more legendary yo-kai than just Shogunyan, you know."

"Maybe we can try to befriend a legendary yo-kai ourselves?" Kira suggested, a bit of slyness in her tone. Hearing what their human friend had just suggested caught the attention of the Venoct brothers, who all turned to face her.

"Us befriend a legendary yo-kai?" Venoct remarked, "Are you sure you know what you're talking about, Kira?"

"Come on, Venoct," Kira said, "If a group like Atticus and his posse can pull it off, then why not the lot of us? I mean, how hard can it be?"

"Well for starters, most yo-kai out there don't even believe that the legendary yo-kai even exist," Venoct began, "Second off, those that are aware of the fact that the legendary yo-kai do, in fact, exist, don't even know where to start looking."

"I-if I can be so b-bold as to offer s-some advice," a female voice said weakly from off to the side, prompting Kira and the Venoct brothers to turn and face Blizarria, so was awake and trying to prop herself up on the sofa.

"Yo dude, you ought to rest," Illuminoct said as he and the others saw Blizarria try to get up.

"I overheard w-what you guys were talking about a-as I started to w-wake up," Blizarria said weakly as she barely managed to sit herself upright, "A-about trying to g-go about befriending a legendary yo-kai. I have a-an idea on how to d-do that."

"You don't say," Kira remarked in a tone of piqued interest as she and the Venoct brothers regarded the ill S-rank yo-kai.

Nodding slowly, Blizarria said, "Y-you have a Medallium, right, h-human?"

"Yeah, I got one," Kira replied, "Why do you ask?"

"If you m-manage to befriend a certain g-group of eight yo-kai," Blizarria explained, "A p-page near the back of y-your Medallium will l-light up. When that h-happens, it m-means that the medal for a l-legendary yo-kai will pop out."

"So, I just have to go about befriending eight specific yo-kai, and I'll befriend a legendary just like that?" Kira asked, "Well how about that!"

"Hey Blizarria, are you doing okay?" Venoct asked.

"I am w-well enough to sit up and s-speak, albeit weakly," Blizarria was able to get out, "With enough r-rest, I should be g-good to go." The ill S-rank yo-kai reached into her robes, and pulled out something, going slowly due to how under the weather she was. After pulling out her hand, Blizarria opened it, revealing her yo-kai medal. Holding her hand with the medal in Kira's direction, Blizarria said, "T-this is for y-you, human." Cracking a smile that was weak due to sickness, Blizarria weakly asked, "I don't s-suppose I can get y-your name, so I don't h-have to keep r-referring to you as h-human?"

Smiling, Kira said as she accepted Blizarria's yo-kai medal, "My name's Kira. The guys here are Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct."

"Well K-Kira, it's nice to g-get to know you," Blizarria said, "I hope w-we can hang out m-more when I'm not s-sick."

"Well that would be-" Kira began to say, but she was cut off by a knock at the front door. "…I'll just be a second," Kira said to her new yo-kai friend as she walked over to the front door to open it. Standing at the door, to Kira's surprise, was Atticus and Kyubi, accompanied by a yo-kai that, aside from a different and darker color scheme, looked exactly like Blizarria.

"Atticus said that my older twin sister might be here and that she's sick," the mystery yo-kai that was with Atticus and Kyubi said, worry clear in her tone and expression, "Is that true?"

"Wait a minute," Kira said, "You're related to-" Kira was unable to finish speaking as the mystery yo-kai rushed past Kira and into the living room. Upon seeing Blizarria laying sick on the couch, the mystery yo-kai cried out in in a mix of surprise and worry.

"Blizarria!" the mystery yo-kai nearly cried, clearly concerned for the sick S-rank yo-kai, "What happened to you?!"

"Damona?" Blizarria said in a confused tone, "How did you find me?"

"Hold on," Venoct said, "How do you two know each other?"

"T-this is Damona," Blizarria explained weakly as she gestured to the mysterious yo-kai, "She is my y-younger twin sister." Turing to face Damona, Blizarria said with an ironic smile, "And to a-answer your question, I ate something that I d-didn't know had gone bad u-until after the fact. I'll b-be fine after I rest f-for a bit. Now a-answer my q-question."

"I befriended a male human named Atticus, and he said that a female human and her group of yo-kai friends brought you here to take care of you," Damona said, somewhat quickly but still perfectly understandable.

As the two sister yo-kai talked to each other, Kira, Atticus and Kyubi watched from the area of the front door. Turning to face Atticus and Kyubi, Kira remarked, "So, you boys managed to get a legendary yo-kai to join your posse. Not bad."

"You know, if you got a Medallium, you can potentially unlock a legendary yo-kai's medal from one of the back-most pages," Atticus replied.

"Yeah, Blizarria already gave me a brief rundown about that stuff," Kira said, "She said that if I befriend eight certain yo-kai, then a page in the back of-" Kira was cut off when Illuminoct cried out in alarm; looking over, Kira, Atticus and Kyubi saw that Damona must have done something to strike Illuminoct, probably for getting too close to Blizarria while she's sick.

The two humans and the nine-tailed fox yo-kai turned back to face each other. "Unlike my brother Darkyubi, I try to give Illuminoct the benefit of the doubt," Kyubi remarked in a casual, conversational tone, "But I'm finding doing so to be harder and hard as time goes on, mostly due to Illuminoct consistently proving my brother's reasoning to be well-founded."

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Author's notes:

Now that I got the legendary yo-kai introduced to this story, things are going to be going places. I even already have a plot in mind for the chapter in which Kira befriends her first legendary yo-kai (of course, she's going to befriend one eventually). I have a few other chapters in mind, and I'm debating if I want to do a Thanksgiving-themed chapter for this story or not. I might do so if I can't come up with another chapter idea in the November area, but I have to work around the fact that Japan, where Yo-kai Watch is primarily set, doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. …Maybe I can have the yo-kai have their own variation of Thanksgiving, and Kira and co. has to help out with setting up or something? I don't know, I'll think about it.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter fifteen: Feasting Day

Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl who lives in the Uptown Springdale area, was in her room one day, looking through her Medallium as she counted the various medals she got from befriending yo-kai; Kira is one of two people who has a Yo-kai Watch, and as such, she can befriend the mysterious spirits that are known as yo-kai. "Come on," Kira muttered aloud to herself as she flipped through the pages, "What am I missing?"

"Kira?" a familiar voice called out, prompting the thirteen-year-old girl to look up and regard Venoct, one of her yo-kai friends; Venoct is, in fact, the first yo-kai that Kira ever befriended. Gesturing to where Kira had the Medallium, Venoct asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out which yo-kai, if any, I have to befriend in order to befriend a Legendary yo-kai," Kira said.

"Oh yeah," Venoct remarked as he crossed his arms over his chest, "We're currently in the business of trying to get a Legendary yo-kai to join our little group after you saw that Atticus had somehow managed to befriend Shogunyan."

"Did you not see how Shogunyan pretty more or less took out one of those blockades from the incident a few days ago single-handedly?" Kira asked, "Those blockades were otherwise impossible to take out, regardless of what we tried. Then Atticus comes in, calls Shogunyan onto the scene, and the one blockade is down before you can say Nom Burger."

"Speaking of nom burgers and various other things you can eat," Venoct began, "Feasting Day is today. I don't suppose you would be willing to take a break from worrying about befriending a Legendary yo-kai so you can help out with setting up the Feasting Day banquet, would you?"

"Feasting Day?" Kira repeated in a confused tone as she got up from where she sat on the floor in her bedroom, "What's Feasting Day?"

"It's a holiday celebrated by yo-kai," Venoct explained, "It's similar to the human holiday of Thanksgiving that's celebrated over in the states. Every year, yo-kai get together and have a grand banquet that they share with each other. This is done in celebration of a significant historical event in yo-kai world history."

With a shrug, Kira said, "Why not? I'm actually kind of curious to learn more about this 'Feasting Day' and the history behind it."

"Some of the younger yo-kai will be acting in a play that's a retelling of the first Feasting Day over where the banquet is going to be held," Venoct replied, "Granted, the play will be a very basic summarization of the first Feasting Day, and it's going to leave out some of the more 'not appropriate for kids' content, but keep in mind that it's yo-kai kids that are acting in the play. And the play should still answer most of the questions you should have."

"Well that's good enough for me," Kira said, "So yeah. Let's get Shadow Venoct, Illuminoct and some of the other yo-kai I've befriended, and we'll head on over to help out with setting up."

"Just don't put Shadow Venoct and Sergeant Burly in the same team," Venoct remarked in a knowing tone, "Those two get along worse than cats and dogs."

"Speaking of," Kira remarked as she and Venoct left her room, "Jibanyan and Komasan get along swimmingly. I think it's because they're co-stars on that animated Jibanyan show that the Springdale Business Center produced to advertise the yo-kai merchandise that they're peddling."

* * *

To Kira's surprise, Venoct led her, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct to the soccer field over at Springdale Elementary School. When they got there, they saw that a number of tables had already been set up. Over near the entrance to the school's gym, Kira saw a number of yo-kai that were all holding scripts, and a few were even clearly in costume.

"Will the school mind that the yo-kai are holding the Feasting Day event here on school grounds?" Kira asked.

"Not at all," Venoct replied, "We already got permission from the school to set up here. Additionally, some of the students of the school will be coming by as well, as this will be a great opportunity for them to learn about yo-kai world history, as well as take part in festivities for a yo-kai holiday."

"Which is part of the reason why the yo-kai managing the food is worried that there won't be enough to feed everyone, yo-kai and humans alike," a familiar voice called out, prompting Kira and Venoct to turn and see Atticus and the Kyubi brothers walk up. It had been Kyubi that had called out. Turning to specifically regard Venoct, Kyubi said, "Did you tell Kira that her help is needed to procure extra food for the Feasting Day banquet?"

"I asked if she'd be willing to help out with the events as a whole," Venoct replied, "Although I was going to emphasize that her help was needed in getting enough food for everyone."

"How many are we expecting?" Kira asked.

"Luckily, we have a list of all of the guests, both humans and yo-kai, that are expected to be showing up," Frostail said as he held up a clipboard he was holding. Looking at the clipboard, Frostail continued, "We still need about ninety-nine of every food item from the ramen, Chinese and sushi places on Flower Road."

"Excuse me?!" Kira exclaimed, caught off guard by what Frostail said.

"We're expecting to be feeding _a lot_ of people here, Kira," Atticus pointed out, "And we're not expecting any one person to foot the bill for all of that."

"Although Atticus was able to foot the bill for ninety-nine of all of the juice and milk items, so there's at least plenty to drink," Darkyubi remarked.

"And we already have ninety-nine of all of the other food items from other places that sell food," Kyubi pointed out, "We're just going to need all of the stuff from the ramen, Chinese and sushi places on Flower Road."

"All of that food and drink…" Kira remarked in a mildly dumbfounded tone, "…Sounds like quite an interesting spread for a banquet."

"This is how yo-kai do things, Kira," Shadow Venoct explained.

"Well then," Kira began as she looked around, "I suppose I can help cover the cost for those food items from the stated places on Flower Road. Let me just call up a few of my other yo-kai friends to help out with things here, then me, Venoct and a few others will head over to Flower Road and get all of the necessary food."

Nodding once in agreement, Atticus replied, "Yeah, that sounds fair."

* * *

As everyone was helping to set up the Feasting Day festivities, friends Nate, Eddie and Bear, along with Nate's cat-turned-yo-kai Jibanyan, were helping with setting up a few more tables and chairs for everyone. "Wow, there are a lot of good smells around here, guys," Bear remarked as he, Nate and Eddie set up a folding table.

"Well that's a given, due to all of the food that's been brought in," Nate replied, "I mean, why wouldn't everything-"

"Hey Nate," Eddie interrupted, "Pardon the interruption, but don't those three yo-kai seem kind of familiar to you?" curious, Nate looked over to where Eddie was pointing. When he did, the Adams boy saw a certain trio of familiar yo-kai, all three of which were looking at the gathered food with a strong desire to chow down.

"It's those three yo-kai who made my mom stuff herself silly!" Nate remarked in a less that happy tone upon seeing the trio of Hungorges who, under their influence, caused Nate's mother Lily to stuff herself up to the point where she tipped the scales. Wanting to give that trio of Hungorges a piece of his mind, Nate marched right over, with Eddie, Bear and Jibanyan going after the Adams boy.

"Hey! You three!" Nate snapped, getting the trio of Hungorges to turn around and face him. When they did, they saw Nate, hands on his hips, staring them all down. "I can't believe that I have to put up with you three again," Nate said in a clearly annoyed tone.

"Oh, umm, hey there, kid," the first Hungorge said, "Umm…long time, no see, huh?"

"How's…how's your mom doing?" the second Hungorge asked half-nervously.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Nate replied in a neutral yet cool tone, "She managed to lose all the weight that she gained when she stuffed herself silly."

"You guys aren't going to try and pull another stunt like that, are you?" Eddie asked in a suspicious tone.

"Rest assured that my companions and I are here only to take part in the Feasting Day activities," the first Hungorge replied, "And we aren't even gong to try and sneak any food before it's actually time to eat. That blonde-haired snake ninja yo-kai fellow is giving my companions and I the evil eye. See?" Nate, Eddie, Bear and Jibanyan all turned to see where the first Hungorge was pointing. When they did, they all saw Illuminoct casing a menacing glare that was clearly aimed at the trio of Hungorges.

When he and the others turned back to face the trio of Hungorges, Nate said, "Well, just try to keep out of trouble, alright?"

"Trust us, we have no intention of being stomped by that trio of snake ninja yo-kai again anytime soon," the second Hungorge remarked. After the second Hungorge said his bit, he and his companions took off for a different area on the Feasting Day festival grounds. After the trio of Hungorges left, Jibanyan turned around and looked up at Nate.

"Hey Nyate," Jibanyan began in a mildly confused tone, "Who were those guys?"

"They're a trio of yo-kai who caused some trouble for my mom sometime before I got you from the animal shelter back when you were still a living cat," Nate explained, "They used their inspiriting powers on my mom to make her stuff herself silly to the point where she got really, really big. Granted, she managed to lose all of the weight that she gained, but the whole mess was still a really big inconvenience to her."

"I'm…going to have to be filled in this one, Nyate," Jibanyan replied.

"It's an interesting story, let me tell you," Nate remarked as he, Jibanyan, Eddie and Bear walked back over to where they were setting up a table.

* * *

Later, inside of the gym, Kira and the Venoct brothers were helping some yo-kai kids get ready for the performance that they were going to give. "You know," Kira began as she spoke to the Venoct brothers as they were carrying a set piece for the play, "A lot of this stuff seems like it would belong in a human Thanksgiving play…"

"Well the human holiday of Thanksgiving and the yo-kai holiday of Feasting Day are rather similar," Venoct replied.

"…But I saw a few things that are _vastly_ different," Kira continued, "For example, I'm pretty sure the first Thanksgiving didn't involve two crews of pirate yo-kai fighting each other as their boats sank…"

"Yeah, we in the yo-kai world do things more awesomely than you and the humans do your things," Illuminoct remarked.

"…In a sea of chocolate cake icing," Kira finished.

"…It occurred in Hungry Pass down in the yo-kai world," Shadow Venoct explained, "Back when there was still chocolate cake icing down there. It's all gone now."

"An entire sea of chocolate cake icing that used to be down in Hungry Pass down in the yo-kai world is all gone now? What, did Hungorges eat all of it?" Kira asked in a tone that sounded like it was partly joking and partly like she wouldn't have been all that surprised if it had actually turned out to be true.

"Actually, a bunch of female yo-kai ate all of it," Shadow Venoct replied, "If I'm remembering my yo-kai world history correctly."

"Did that happen before or after that one yo-kai world earl got in trouble for smacking his butler across the face?" Illuminoct asked.

"No, that yo-kai world earl you're thinking about didn't get into trouble for smacking his butler across the face," Shadow Venoct said to his brother, "I mean, that was a yo-kai butler. Who would get in trouble for smacking one of those across the face?"

"I'm pretty sure that the female yo-kai eating all of the chocolate cake icing took place sometime shortly after Pinkipoo's first dark harvest," Venoct said to his brothers.

"And the eating of the chocolate cake icing was followed by the first Bony Spirits versus Fleshy Souls war," Shadow Venoct added, drawing nods of agreement out of his two brothers.

"And that war was followed by the invention of the first donut in the yo-kai world," Illuminoct said as he held his right index finger up in a gesture meant to convey that he was pointing out some random face.

"Dark harvest?" Kira said in a confused and mildly alarmed tone.

"But what about the alliance formed by the Mysterious tribe and the Slippery tribe?" Illuminoct asked, "That was a rather pivotal moment in yo-kai world history, especially when the Brave and Shady tribes were the first to join said alliance after it was formed."

"The forming of what came to be known as the quad-tribe alliance occurred sometime shortly after the invention of the first donut down in the yo-kai world," Venoct replied to his brother.

"Hey guys," Shadow Venoct began, "Given all of the things we've done with Kira, don't you think that there's a chance we might have made it into the history books?"

"Dude, that would be totally sick if I became a historical hero!" Illuminoct remarked.

As the Venoct brothers continued to convers among themselves about various events in yo-kai world history, Kira remarked to herself in the same confused and mildly alarmed tone as before, "…What kind of dark harvest are we talking about here?"

* * *

Later outside on the soccer field, over where the tables and chairs were set up for the Feasting Day banquet, the food and drinks were being served. Katie, along with Shelly and Alex, were in line together to get food. "Hey Katie," Alex began in a knowing tone, "I bet that there's a certain someone that you'd want to sit next to while we eat, huh?"

Instantly recognizing what her tomboyish friend was talking about, Katie became embarrassed, her face lighting up with a noticeable rosy color. "A-Alex, not now!" Katie stammered, "We're in line for-"

"Oh, hello there, Katie," a familiar woman's voice said, getting Katie and the two girls that she was with to turn around and look. As such, they saw Lily Adams, the mother of Katie's friend (and crush) Nate, standing behind one of the tables loaded with food, serving as one of the people serving the food to the humans and yo-kai who came to enjoy the Feasting Day events.

"Oh, Mrs. Adams," Katie remarked, "I didn't know you were volunteering."

"Well they needed a few extra sets of hands to help with getting the food served to everyone," Lily replied. With a casual shrug, the Adams matriarch added, "So I figured why not."

"Hey Mrs. A," Alex began in a mildly mischievous tone, "I don't suppose you know where Nate is at, do you?" Once again, Katie recognized that Alex was preying on her (Katie's) feelings for Nate just to mess with her.

"Oh, Nate is over at one of the tables with Eddie, Bear, and this girl that has just the cutest little crush on Eddie," Lily replied. With a slight giggle, Lily added, "Seeing that girl with Eddie makes me wonder when Nate himself will bring a girl over."

"That day may come sooner than you think, Mrs. A," Alex remarked in a knowing tone, making the blushing on Katie's face become even more pronounced as a result.

"Oh?" Lily replied in an amused tone, "Are you fancying yourself as that girl, Alex?"

In response to Lily's question, Alex let out a good-natured laugh. "Oh no, Mrs. A, no," Alex replied, "It's not me. Although it's a certain other girl, you know?"

"Well whoever she is, she better does right by my son," Lily remarked, "That's all I'm going to ask."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be more than glad to do that," Alex said after she, Katie and Shelly got the food that they were going to eat. As the three girls took their leave, Alex said, "Catch you later, Mrs. A!"

As she, Alex and Shelly walked over to a table to sit down, Katie turned to face Alex and hissed, "Alex, what was that for?!"

"You gotta pull the stick out of your rear at some point, girl," Alex replied in a casual tone as she and the girls sat down at a spot at the table, "You won't get your dream guy otherwise."

* * *

After everyone had eaten and drank their fill, the humans and yo-kai who came to the Feasting Day event went into the gym, as the play recounting the first Feasting Day was about to be put on for everyone's entertainment. Kira and the Venoct brothers sat in the front row, somewhere in the center of the front row, alongside Atticus and the Kyubi brothers. As everyone in the audience settled down, a Zappary stepped onto stage and walked to the front and center of the stage before he began speaking to the audience.

"Hi, everyone," said the Zappary, clearly a kid yo-kai, "Me and the other yo-kai in my Kindergarten class are now going to perform a play about the first Feasting Day."

"Aww, now that yo-kai child sound just precious," one of the adult human women in the audience cooed; the woman sat just behind Kira and the Venoct brothers, so they were able to hear what she said.

After the Zappary walked back behind the stage, the curtain pulled apart, revealing a number of yo-kai kids dressed up in various costumes, standing around a scene that looked similar to what one would see in a 'First Thanksgiving' kind of play performed by young human children.

"I am the leader of my pilgrim group, having just lead my group here to the land will one day be known as Sakura New Town," a Lie-in dressed as a pilgrim group leader said.

Down in the audience, Illuminoct leaned to his side and whispered to Kira, "What the heck is Sakura New Town?"

"That's what Springdale used to be called up until about seventy-two years ago," Kira whispered back, "Now pay attention to the play."

Back to the play, a Toiletta dressed as a leader of a group of native inhabitants of the land was speaking. "We welcome you with open arms to our land," the Toiletta said as she stood in front of a group of yo-kai kids dressed in a similar style to her, "Come, we shall have a big dinner with lots of good food to celebrate our two groups becoming friends."

"Yay!" the Lie-in cheered as he and the other yo-kai kids in his group all raised their arms into the air and cheered. Seeing the yo-kai kids cheer like that drew a good number of 'aww' sounds from the audience.

Leaning to his side again, Illuminoct whispered to Kira, "You gotta admit that is play is rather adorable, Kira."

With a shrug, Kira replied, "I won't argue with that."

* * *

After the play, everyone could be seen walking out of the gym. One such group seen walking out of the gym was Kira and the Venoct brothers plus Atticus and the Kyubi brothers. "The play started off normal," Kira remarked in a mildly confused 'ehh' kind of tone, "But when they brought in the yo-kai ninja who stole everyone's gummy snacks and only just gummy snacks, I had no idea whatsoever what the heck was going on."

"Gummy snacks were so popular in the yo-kai world back then that they were actually used as a form of currency," Kyubi pointed out, "The yo-kai world started using human currency about two-hundred and sixty-nine years ago, back when the use of human currency first became a viable option for the yo-kai world."

"On a related note, there are some circles in the yo-kai world that want to reestablish gummy snacks as a form of currency in the yo-kai world," Darkyubi added in a 'did you know' kind of tone, "But this tends not to extend beyond the playgrounds of various yo-kai public schools."

"Well I certainly learned a lot about yo-kai world history today," Kira remarked, "In fact, I feel as if I was doing something very important earlier, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was due to everything I learned about yo-kai world history today."

"Something about wanting to try to befriend a Legendary yo-kai?" Illuminoct said in a tone that was more guessing randomly than stating a fact that he knew to be true.

Eyes widening out of shock, Kira nearly exclaimed, "Holy crud, Illuminoct is right! I have to get back to trying to befriend a Legendary yo-kai!"

"Oh, you're still on about that, huh?" Atticus remarked in a mildly amused tone. With a chuckle, Atticus continued, "Well, if there's anyone, aside from myself, who can pull that off, I'd have to say that it'd be you, Kira."

"…Are you mocking me?" Kira asked the thirteen-year-old boy in a suspicious tone.

"Nonsense," Atticus replied as he waved his left index finger while holding his right hand on his hip, "I would never mock someone who I respect when they're going on about a goal that is clearly very important to them." Turning to face Kira more properly, Atticus continued, "I have every confidence that you will befriend a Legendary yo-kai, Kira."

Relaxing a bit, Kira said, "Thanks, Atticus."

"Now then," Atticus remarked, "If you and the Venoct brothers will excuse us, the Kyubi brothers and I must get going. Take care, you four." Kira and the Venoct brothers waved good-bye as Atticus and the Kyubi brothers took their leave. When the thirteen-year-old boy and his trio of nine-tailed kitsune yo-kai friends were out of sight, Kira and the Venoct brothers turned to face each other.

"There's something that's been bothering me about today," Kira began. Turning to face Shadow Venoct, Kira said, "And I think that _you_ may be able to answer that, Shadow Venoct."

"Me?" Shadow Venoct replied, a confused look on his face.

"I sent word to all of the yo-kai that I've befriended that they should swing by the Feasting Day event over at Springdale Elementary," Kira began, "And I saw all of them…except for Sergeant Burly." Giving Shadow Venoct a suspicious look, Kira continued, "Care to explain?"

"Actually, Kira," Venoct interrupted, "Sergeant Burly couldn't make it, as he was running a fitness session over at the Springdale Sports Club."

"Well thank goodness for that," Shadow Venoct remarked as he breathed a sigh of relief, "I'd hate to hear that idiot go on about how everyone would have to do double time to feel the burn, or whatever the heck he'd say after everyone that was at the Feasting Day event today was done stuffing themselves."

With an indifferent shrug, Kira said, "Well, whatever makes him happy." To the Venoct brothers, Kira continued, "Anywho, you all want to head back home now?"

"Yeah, I could go for a rest," Illuminoct replied as he raised his arms up into the air to stretch them. Both Venoct and Shadow Venoct nodded in agreement with their blonde-haired brother.

With a bit of an amused chuckle, Kira said, "Well boys, let's bounce. We got a home to get back to, and I got to do some thinking about which yo-kai I have to go out and befriend if I'm going to befriend a Legendary yo-kai." The four friends, three yo-kai and one human, all conversed with each other as they made their way back home, their time at the Feasting Day event enjoyable.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Author's notes:

I'm _REALLY_ sorry that this chapter is so late. I usually get new chapters for this story out on Fridays, but I figured that I should have gotten this chapter out on 11-23-17, which was Thanksgiving. But my older sister and her fiancé came over on the aforementioned date to have Thanksgiving dinner with me and the rest of our family. I hardly ever see my older sister, and her fiancé is one cool dude who I'm looking forward to having as an in-law, so I hope you can understand that I wanted to spend some time with them.

Since 11-24-17 is a Friday, which like I said is usually when I get new chapters for this story out, I figured that I should have gotten this chapter out earlier in the morning (Friday mornings important!), but due to various things involving the video games I play, I didn't get this chapter out until sometime between seven to eight in the evening. I'm sorry for dropping the ball like that, but I got sidetracked. Hopefully this won't be an issue for when the next chapter rolls out. I'm also sorry that this chapter is a bit short compared to some of the other chapters.

Spoiler alert for the next chapter; Kira gets her wish.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter sixteen: Kira befriends a Legendary yo-kai

Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl living in the uptown Springdale area, was sitting on the floor in her bedroom in the house where she lived with her grandmother. Kira was going over the collection of yo-kai medals that she had; as she is one of two people with a Yo-kai Watch, Kira is able to befriends the yo-kai, the various spirits that have an impact on the everyday lives of people living in the Springdale, Harrisville and San Fantastico areas.

As Kira was going over her medals and looking through her yo-kai Medallium, Venoct, one of Kira's yo-kai friends, came walking over after opening the door and walking into Kira's bedroom. Seeing his human friend sitting on the floor and doing what she was doing, Venoct said, "You're still rather keen on befriending a Legendary yo-kai, aren't you?"

"Well why wouldn't I be?" Kira replied as she looked up from her task and turned to regard the first yo-kai that she ever befriended. Going back to her Medallium, the girl who befriends yo-kai continued, "Did you not see what that Legendary yo-kai who is part of Atticus's posse did back when those wall yo-kai were trying to block off that one alleyway near the Fish Market?" Gesturing to her Medallium, Kira said, "Imagine if our posse had that kind of power working for us. There's no way that-"

Kira stopped short as, while flipping through her Medallium, she stopped on one of the pages near the back. To her and Venoct's surprise, it was glowing brightly with multiple colors; it might as well be a brightly-glowing rainbow-colored nightlight. "…The heck is that?" Venoct asked in a confused tone as he regarded the glowing pages.

"I don't know, but I'm not going to touch it just yet," Kira said. Turning to face Venoct, Kira asked, "Hey Venoct, can you go get your brothers? I get the feeling that all four of us should be here when we investigate this."

"Yeah, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct are both down stairs," Venoct replied as he turned around to go get his brothers, "Hold on, I'll go get them" After about a minute of waiting, Kira saw Venoct return to the bedroom, with his two brothers in toe. When Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct arrived, they saw the glowing pages of Kira's yo-kai Medallium, and likewise expressed surprise upon seeing it.

"…Is your Medallium getting ready to go to a cartoon pony convention, Kira?" Illuminoct asked as he pointed to the Medallium.

"What?!" Kira said in a confused tone, "What the heck are you on about, Illuminoct?"

Shrugging, Illuminoct said, "From what I've heard, the people who go to cartoon pony conventions like rainbows and other stuff like that."

"No, my Medallium is not going to any convention," Kira replied, "I was flipping through my Medallium as I was thinking about how to go about befriending a Legendary yo-kai like how Atticus has done, when I noticed that this glowing was going on."

As he gave the glowing pages of Kira's Medallium some consideration, Shadow Venoct said, "…Try touching the glowing pages, Kira."

"Touch them?" Kira said in a mildly unsure tone.

"Lay your hand on them," Shadow Venoct clarified, "Roughly in that circle pattern that takes up most of the center of the back-to-back pages." Still mildly unsure but trusting the S-rank rare yo-kai, Kira laid her hand upon the circle pattern in the center of the two back-to-back pages that were glowing with rainbow colors. To Kira's surprise, the pages glowed even brighter, and with a golden hue, as a sphere of golden, nearly white, glowing light floated up out of the Medallium.

"Guys, I think this is it!" Kira said as she was getting more and more excited, "I think this is when our posse will finally get a Legendary-" Kira was cut off when a mostly white fluffy poodle with purple wisps of fur on his head and one serving as his tail flew out of the glowing sphere of light, and face-planting on the floor in Kira's room.

"…Oh my, this certainly won't do," the mysterious poodle yo-kai said.

"…Umm, excuse me," Kira said, and upon hearing someone speak, the poodle yo-kai jumped up onto his four feet. When the poodle yo-kai did that, Kira saw that not only did he have a human face, but that said face was what many people would consider very handsome. "Are…are you okay?" Kira asked.

"Never better, my dear," the poodle yo-kai replied, "Now that the seal in that Medallium that I was stuck in has been broken." Regarding Kira more specifically, the poodle yo-kai said, "Can I get your name?"

"Oh, I'm Kira," the thirteen-year-old girl replied. Gesturing to the Venoct brothers who stood behind the poodle yo-kai, Kira continued, "And those guys are Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct." The poodle yo-kai turned to face the Venoct brothers, regarded them for a few seconds, then turned back to face Kira.

"Well then, Kira-girl and company, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the poodle yo-kai replied, "And as you gave me your names, I should be affording you the same courtesy." Taking a polite bow, the poodle yo-kai said, "I am Dandoodle, the Legendary yo-kai."

"You're a legendary?" Illuminoct asked, his tone clearly indicating that he was having trouble believing what Dandoodle had said.

"Indeed, I am," Dandoodle replied. Turning to face Kira, Dandoodle continued, "Seeing as you are the one who broke the seal that kept me bound in the Medallium, this is for you." Dandoodle walked up to Kira and held his right front paw out. Sitting in Dandoodle's paw was his yo-kai medal, with Kira took with a smile.

"Sweetness!" Kira said, "Welcome to the party, Dandoodle!"

"Mmm," Dandoodle remarked with a hum, "Sounds to me like I'll be enjoying myself here, Kira-girl." Kira, with the Venoct brothers at her side, celebrated having finally befriended a Legendary yo-kai.

* * *

The following morning, Kira, after having woken up, walked down the stairs and made a turn to head into the dining area. When she did, she saw that Dandoodle was sitting at the table with the Venoct brothers and Kira's Grandma Sophia, drinking soda from a champagne glass. "Good morning to you, Kira-girl," Dandoodle greeted, "I take it that you slept well?"

"Kira, you never told me that one of your yo-kai friends is such a gentleman," Sophia remarked.

"Oh, yeah, good morning everyone," Kira said as she stifled a yawn, "Yeah grandma, I actually only got Dandoodle's yo-kai medal yesterday." As she slowly woke up more and more, Kira noticed what Dandoodle was doing. "…Umm, Dandoodle, why are you drinking soda from a champagne glass?"

"Well it's not like there's any fine wine around here," Dandoodle remarked. After taking a sip from his drink, Dandoodle continued, "At least you have a name brand drink, and none of that silly generic nastiness."

"Oh yeah, Kira," Venoct said, "After you're done fully waking up and having breakfast, we need to make a trip to Blossom Heights."

"Blossom Heights?" Kira repeated in a mildly curious tone as she walked over to the coffee machine, which had a hot, freshly brewed pot of coffee. As she poured herself a mug of the rich brew, Kira said, "Why are we heading to Blossom Heights?"

"Bear said that he needs our help with something," Venoct replied, "From the sounds of it, it looks like it's going to be a good job for us."

"A job, you say?" Dandoodle remarked, "My, aren't you all the go-getters."

"Yeah, that reminds me," Kira said to her Legendary yo-kai friend, "Since you're new to the group, I need to inform you that we, that being my yo-kai friends and I, are often hired to take care of various yo-kai related jobs. We also occasionally do ones that aren't yo-kai related." Turning to face Venoct, Kira asked, "What did Bear say about needing our help?"

"He said something about how his heart was ripped out of his chest and grounded into the ground under someone's heel, and that his life is now over," Venoct explained in a casual tone. With a shrug, Venoct said in a tone that sounded like he didn't really care, "I'm guessing that Bear found out that a girl he likes doesn't like him back, or whatever."

"Oh dear, one of the young boys in Springdale is heartbroken?" Sophia said in a concerned tone, "That's terrible."

"Huh, I've never had to deal with a job about someone being heartbroken," Kira remarked in a mildly surprised tone, "This might be worth looking into."

* * *

After getting ready to face the day, Kira, with the Venoct brothers at her side, went over to Bear's family's place over in Blossom Heights. When she arrived, Kira was greeted by Bear's mom Gilda. "Yo, Mrs. B," Kira said, "I was told that Bear wanted to see me."

"Yeah, he's in his room," Gilda said, "The last time I checked, he was sitting in a folding chair and looking out his bedroom window." Hearing Bear's mother say that, Kira's expression morphed into one of concern.

"Geez, I better go see what he wants with me, then," Kira said as she and the Venoct brothers were let inside. After making their way up, Kira and the Venoct brothers eventually found themselves standing outside of Bear's bedroom door. To her yo-kai friends, Kira said, "Well boys, here goes nothing."

Kira opened the door to Bear's room and walked on in. "Bear?" Kira said in a mildly concerned tone, "I came because I was told you wanted to see me?" When she and the Venoct brothers entered Bear's room, they saw that he was faced away from his bedroom door, starring out the window while sitting in a folding chair, despite the fact that there's a perfectly good spinning chair at his desk. "…Bear?" Kira said, growing more and more concerned.

"My life is over," Bear said, his tone surprisingly somber, "Lulu, the cutest girl at school and the one who stole my heart, doesn't like me."

"Isn't she the girl that has a surprising obsession for food?" Venoct asked, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Yeah, that's true enough," Bear replied as he got up from the chair he sat in and turned to face his visitors, "But that's beside the point. Lulu doesn't like me."

"Relax, Bear," Kira began, "So Lulu doesn't like you. She just one girl. Su-"

"It's not just Lulu," Bear said, interrupting Kira in the process. Sighing in a resigned, somber tone, Bear continued, "I think I should tell you why I asked you to come over. It has to do with what I discovered along with the fact that Lulu doesn't like me…"

(FLASHBACK)

Bear was walking along in Downtown Springdale, humming a happy little tune to himself, when he overheard someone talking. Curious, he made his way over to where the talking came from. Upon spotting Lulu, the girl he has a crush on, sitting outside at the café along with Katie, Alex, Chelsea, Zoey, Lina and Shelly, Bear quickly took cover behind a bush so he could listen in on the conversation that the girls were having.

"…And that's how Katie and I finally got some of that limited-edition dipping sauce over at Nom Burger," Alex said to the other girls.

"Did you really have to bring me along for that, Alex?" Katie asked in a confused tone.

After taking a sip from the drink she had, Alex, with a slight but noticeable bit of drool on the side of her lower lip, replied, "We n-needed the *URP* limited-edition s-sauce, Katie! That s-sauce is a n-national treasure!"

"What I need to do right now is to figure out how to get a boy to like me," Lulu said, "You girls know that the summer dance is coming up, right? I can't show up without a date!"

"Why not ask Bear?" Chelsea suggested, her tone and expression clearly conveying some level of disgust for Bear, "From what I hear, Bear has something of a crush on you, Lulu." This prompted all of the other girls to laugh cruelly. As he heard this laughter, Bear's heart sank, and it was sunken further by what he heard next.

"Eww!" Lulu said in a tone of disgust, "Bear likes me? Are you kidding? Now I feel dirty! I need to take a bath when I get home!"

"I can't blame you for that, girl," Lina remarked casually, "I mean, look at his face. That is one ugly face! Not to mention he's kind of big." The girls all laughed cruelly once again.

"There's something I've always been wondering," Shelly said. Turning to face Katie, Shelly asked, "Katie, how can you stand hanging out with Bear as much as you do?"

"Look girls, I'm going to be completely honest with all of you," Katie began in a mildly serious tone, "If it wasn't for the fact that he's friends with Nate and Eddie, I most likely wouldn't even know who Bear is."

"Oh yeah, Bear's friends with those two," Zoey said casually, a bare hint of surprise in her tone, "Although I'm surprised that he's friends with Nate. I mean, doesn't Bear bully Nate?"

"Bear does _**WHAT**_?!" Katie nearly screamed, anger clear on her face as she slammed her hands on the table while standing up from her seat, "I will destroy him!"

"Easy there, girl," Alex said to the fuming Forester girl, "You can protect your guy later. Right now, we need to help Lulu brainstorm some ideas for boys she can got to the summer dance with, aside from Bear, of course." The girls all then shared another cruel laugh at Bear's expense, unaware that not only did Bear hear them, but that, without being seen by the girls, Bear ran away crying.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

"…So yeah," Bear said to Kira and the Venoct brothers with a resigned sigh, "Not only does Lulu not like me, but there's a very good chance that all of the girls at school don't like me." With a mildly curious expression, Bear added, "Also, this might sound really strange, but I think that Katie has a crush on Nate."

"She does have a crush on Nate, but that's beside the point," Shadow Venoct said. Shaking his head gently in a manner that conveyed disappointment, Shadow Venoct continued, "Wow. I can't believe that the girls are actually like that."

"We should tell the other boys in Bear's class," Illuminoct stated.

"Then the girls will eventually find out that Bear had eavesdropped on their conversation," Kira pointed out, "And that would just make things worse for Bear." Tapping the side of her fist into her hand, the thirteen-year-old girl continued, "We need to figure out a way to get Bear out of the funk that he's fallen into."

Kira and the Venoct brothers all brainstormed for ideas over the next few seconds, up until Illuminoct said, "Maybe Dandoodle can help us?"

"Dandoodle? Who's that?" Bear asked, his tone shifting to one of slight curiosity.

"You know Shogunyan, the Legendary yo-kai that Atticus befriended?" Venoct began, "Yeah, Dandoodle is a Legendary yo-kai that Kira befriended just yesterday."

"Hey, yeah," Kira remarked as she sounded like she was getting more and more into the idea of getting Dandoodle to help out, "Looks like we finally get to see our Legendary yo-kai friend in action!" Kira reached into a pocket on the cargo shorts she was wearing, pulled out Dandoodle's yo-kai medal, and inserted it into her Yo-kai Watch. "Come on out, my friend!" Kira said as she put the yo-kai medal into her Yo-kai Watch, "Calling Dandoodle! Yo-kai medal, do your thing!" After a procession of trumpets playing heroic-sounding music played randomly out of nowhere, Dandoodle appeared in Bear's bedroom, standing in front of everyone.

"Oh my, I'm needed already?" Dandoodle said, "How may I be of service?"

"Dandoodle, this is Bear," Kira said as she made the appropriate introductions, "He's feeling down after hearing a number of girls dis how he looks, and now he believes that there aren't any girls who would be into him." Turning to face Bear, Dandoodle gave him a quick head-to-toe look before turning back to face Kira.

"Why Kira-girl, you couldn't have picked a better yo-kai to help you out of this jam," Dandoodle replied, "By the time I finish working my magic, this boy will be nothing short of fabulous!" Turning back around to face Bear, Dandoodle held a paw up, aiming it at Bear. Suddenly, an aura of energy flew from Dandoodle's paw and right into Bear, making his entire form glow brightly. After the glowing had faded, Kira and the Venoct brothers saw, to their shock, that Bear was now incredibly handsome.

"Dang, Bear," Illuminoct said in a genuinely impressed-sounding tone, "Let's see those girls try to dis how you look now, dude!"

* * *

Later, Kira, with the Venoct brothers and Dandoodle following behind her, followed Bear over to where Nate and Eddie were hanging out. "This ought to be good," Kira whispered to her yo-kai friends as they all watched Bear walk up to Nate and Eddie, getting their attention. When the two boys turned to face Bear, they were surprised with how incredibly handsome Bear was.

"…Bear?" Eddie said in a tone of disbelief, "Is that you?!"

"Yeah, it's me," Bear replied, "Why do you ask?"

"Wow, Bear," Nate remarked in a mildly impressed tone, "You look like when my dad gussies himself up to try and get my mom to ease up on him after he did something to make her mad."

"What's with the sudden makeover, dude?" Eddie asked, "You trying to get some girl at school to like you so you'd get a date to the upcoming summer dance?"

"Speaking of, I should probably look into asking a girl out myself," Nate added.

"You guys think I can get a girl to go with me to the dance?" Bear asked his friends.

"I don't see why not," Eddie replied with a shrug, "I mean, you look like the average fifth-grade girl's definition of eye candy, so it should logically be easy for you to get a girl to go with you." With something of a suspicious look in his eyes, Eddie added, "Just…just remember that I'm going to the dance with Inaho, alright Bear?"

"I was actually thinking about asking Lulu," Bear said.

"Okay, good," Eddie remarked with a nod. As the three boys talked, Chelsea came walking by. "Hey Nate," Chelsea began, "Hey Eddie, hey Be-" Chelsea stopped short upon seeing the now incredibly handsome Bear, her eyes widening out of shock and surprise. "… _Bear_?!" Chelsea said, not believing what she was seeing, "Is that you?!"

"Yeah, it's me," Bear replied, "Why do you ask?!"

"…Wow," Chelsea remarked, "I, umm…I got to go tell the girls something." With something of an urgent look on her face, Chelsea turned around and dashed off as quickly as she could. After she was gone, Nate and Eddie turned to face Bear.

"Well Bear," Nate said in a knowing tone, "It seems that your odds of getting a girl to go with you to the summer dance are looking pretty good."

"Sweetness!" Bear exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. As Bear, Nate and Eddie continued to talk, Kira and her yo-kai friends continued to watch, looks of amusement on their faces.

"Well then, Kira-girl," Dandoodle began, "What do you think of my handiwork?"

"I think that your handiwork is working like a charm," Kira remarked.

"I bet you can't make a toaster treat look handsome," Illuminoct said to the Legendary yo-kai.

"Oh, so you want a challenge, do you?" Dandoodle remarked, a hint of competitiveness in his suave and cool voice. Kira, Venoct and Shadow Venoct all then laughed at the good-natured banter going on between Illuminoct and Dandoodle.

* * *

Later over at the house where Kira and her grandmother lives, Kira, the Venoct brothers and Dandoodle were sitting at the table, having a snack. "Mmm," Illuminoct remarked as he leaned back in his seat, "That was the most handsome and delicious toaster treat I ever ate."

"Everything is better when it's handsome," Dandoodle said casually before sipping from a champagne glass of cola, "That's why I-" The Legendary yo-kai was cut off when everyone heard a knocking at the front door.

"I'll get it," Kira said as she got up and walked to the front door. Upon opening it, Kira saw Bear standing there, a mildly amused look on his face. "Oh, 'sup Bear," Kira greeted, "I take it that your quest to get a date is going well?"

With a chuckle, Bear said, "Not only is Lulu interested in me now, but so is Chelsea, Shelly, Lina, Zoey, Maya, Megan, Natalie, _and_ Sarah!"

"That's more or less every girl we're familiar with aside from Katie, Alex and Inaho," Venoct remarked to Kira and the others.

"I can understand Inaho not going for Bear, seeing as how she likes sticking close to Eddie," Shadow Venoct began to remark, "And Katie's got her eyes firmly set on Nate. But what about Alex? How is she-" Shadow Venoct was cut off when a few girls could be heard calling out to Bear, prompting him, Kira and the Venoct brothers to turn and see a group of girls consisting of Lulu, Maya, Chelsea and Sarah standing there.

"Bear, you aren't going to ask Kira to the dance, are you?" Maya asked, her tone sounding like she was hoping Bear would say no.

"I was just talking to her about something I needed her help with earlier," Bear explained, "We're just talking business. Besides, Kira's isn't a student at Springdale Elementary, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense for me to ask her to the summer dance."

"Plus, she's older than us, and older girls are more ugly than younger girls," Sarah said.

"Thank you, I'm standing right here," Kira remarked in a tone that was a healthy mix of casual and sarcastic.

"So anywho Bear," Chelsea began in a mildly flirtatious tone, "Did you decide who you wanted to go to the dance with yet?"

"Well Chelsea," Bear began, "I was thinking that-" Bear was cut off when a group of girls could be heard cheering in an excited tone. Turning to face the appropriate direction, everyone saw another group of girls consisting of Lina, Zoey, Megan and Shelly standing there. As that group of girls came up and started to get into an argument with the first group of girls, Kira turned to face the Venoct brothers and Dandoodle.

"…Boy," Kira said in a mildly apprehensive tone, "I think that things might start to go south here."

"Oh relax, Kira-girl," Dandoodle remarked in a casual, relaxed tone, "There shouldn't be anything wrong with Bear-boy here receiving so much attention from adoring girls. I don't foresee any possible negative outcome for this situation."

"Are you sure?" Venoct asked, a wry look on his face.

Giving Venoct a confident grin, Dandoodle replied, "You can trust me. I'm a Legendary."

* * *

Sometime later that day, Kira, the Venoct brothers and Dandoodle were walking over to Breezy Hills; Eddie and Nate, the latter hanging out with the former, needed Kira's help with something, so the girl who befriends yo-kai figured that she and her yo-kai friends had enough time on their hands to go see the boys.

"So, as it turns out, Alex isn't interested in dating in general," Kira remarked to her yo-kai friends, "Hence why she didn't fall for the charm that Dandoodle had cast on Bear."

"Is that girl interested in anything at all?" Venoct asked rhetorically as he and the others continued their walk to Eddie's place, "The enigma that is Alex is one of the few things that I have yet to figure-" The S-rank yo-kai stopped short when he and the others heard someone shouting in a panic at some distance away. Kira and her yo-kai friends all turned to face the direction they heard the shouting coming from.

When they did, they saw Bear run past them while shouting, "AHHHHHH!" A few seconds after Bear ran past them, Kira and her yo-kai friends saw a group of multiple girls run after Bear, cheering excitedly as if they were chasing some handsome celebrity. After the girls had run past, Kira turned to face Dandoodle.

"…What was that you said earlier about you not foreseeing any possible negative outcome of the situation where a bunch of girls are arguing over Bear?" Kira asked, a wry knowing look on her face.

Sighing, Dandoodle replied, "I guess that I stand corrected."

"We ought to go help Bear out," Venoct said as he looked down the path that Bear and the girls chasing him took, "From the looks of things, Bear will get into a heap of trouble if we let things go on as they are."

* * *

The following day, Kira, the Venoct brothers and Dandoodle were talking to Nate, Eddie and Bear. After Kira and her yo-kai friends were lucky enough to get to Bear when he was being chased by girls the previous day, Kira had Dandoodle undo what he did, returning Bear to his original look.

"So, Kira's newest yo-kai friend has the power to make people handsome, and he used his handsome-making power on you because you were worried about being able to get a date to the summer dance," Eddie said to Bear. A curious look on his face, Eddie continued, "Is that it? Do I have everything correct?"

"Yeah, dude," Bear said in a resigned tone. With a resigned sigh, Bear continued, "But the handsome power was too strong, and the girls all went crazy for me. It was actually kind of frightening, but now that all of the girls don't like me again, I wish that at least one of them still liked me."

"Well Bear, you can't really control how the girls think you look," Nate began, "Well, you shouldn't try to control something like that. However, if you want to try and improve what the girls think of you in terms of personality, you can start by easing up on people that you're being accused of bullying."

"But I'm not a bully!" Bear complained.

"Saying that Nate is a nerd because of how academically gifted he is in combination with his lack of athletic prowess qualifies as bullying," Venoct pointed out.

"That's just playful teasing!" Bear insisted.

"That sounds like the excuse-making that bullies use to try and justify what they do," Kira retorted.

As Bear's shoulders dropped in defeat, everyone heard a girl call out. Turning to face the direction the call came from, everyone saw Lulu walking up. "Hey, umm, Bear," Lulu began in a somewhat unsure tone.

"Lulu?!" Bear said in a surprised tone, "What are you doing here?"

"Listen," Lulu explained in the same unsure tone, "The girls and I were talking about what happened yesterday. We feel kind of guilty about how we chased you around all over Breezy Hills. We also feel bad that the lack of consideration that we paid you prompted you to try and make yourself over as drastically as you did." With a mildly nervous and resigned look on her face, Lulu continued, "Umm, if you can promise not to be mean or anything, I may consider asking you to the summer dance. Or saying yes if you ask me, whichever comes first."

"Oh, heck yeah!" Bear said excitedly as he stood up from where he was sitting, "You aren't going to regret this, Lulu!"

"Well alright, Bear!" Nate said, "Now both you and Eddie have dates to the summer dance!" With a look of consideration on his face, Nate continued, "That just leaves me to try and find a date to the summer dance."

"Why not ask Katie?" Bear suggested innocently, "She has a crush on you, dude."

"KATIE HAS A CRUSH ON ME?!" Nate exclaimed, clearly looking like the biggest metaphorical bombshell in his life had just been dropped on him.

"Bear!" Lulu exclaimed in a practically demanding tone, "How did you find out about that?!"

Pointing to Shadow Venoct, Bear replied, "Shadow Venoct told me, Lulu." With a mildly confused look on his face, Bear continued, "Why do you ask?"

While giving an annoyed sounding moan, Kira said as she facepalmed, "Shadow Venoct, are you seriously trying to take Illuminoct's title of dumbest Venoct brother?"

"I'll fight tooth and nail to keep that Hey wait a minute," Illuminoct said to his white-haired brother, deviating midsentence when he realized part of what Kira had said.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Author's notes:

There we go, Kira finally got her wish of befriending a Legendary yo-kai. It's a shame that it didn't turn out exactly as she may have envisioned (she was thinking of something similar to what she saw when Shogunyan attacked the wall-like yo-kai). Anywho, in case anyone was wondering, Kira will be befriending three more Legendary yo-kai; Atticus has Shogunyan and three others himself. Also, due to Bear revealing Katie's crush on Nate near the tail end of this chapter, I'm going to have to do some follow-up on that. I'm not sure what it'll be yet, but I'll think of something. As a side note, I'm sorry that this didn't get up around the usual time, but I was swamped on the first, what with having to take care of some holiday shopping and all. Also, I'm toying around with the idea of doing a Christmas-themed chapter for this story.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter seventeen: Holly's Day

Kira, a thirteen-year-old girl living in the Uptown Springdale area, was walking on the sidewalk, fast approaching the Uptown Springdale Everymart. As one of two people who befriends yo-kai, Kira was, as per usual, accompanied by some of her yo-kai friends, those being Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct. "So, Kira," Venoct said, "What's on the agenda today?"

"Well first," Kira began, "We have to pick up a few things. Mostly restocking on necessities and the like. Then when we're done with that, we have to head over to Breezy Hills."

"Does Eddie need our help with something?" Illuminoct asked, a curious look on his face.

Gently shaking her head in the negative, Kira replied, "No, although our trip over to Breezy Hills is somewhat related to Eddie, by virtue of the fact that we're going to go see Inaho."

"Eddie's girlfriend?" Shadow Venoct said in a mildly confused tone, "She lives in the Breezy Hills area?"

Nodding a few times in the affirmative, Kira said, "Yeah. Inaho lives in an apartment building located near the museum."

"Why are we going over to see Inaho?" Shadow Venoct asked.

"Remember when Inaho said something about how she was being bothered by yo-kai a while ago, and how Atticus and the Kyubi brothers put a stop to it?" Kira began to explain, "Yeah, I'm itching to find out exactly what-"

Kira was cut off when, as she and the Venoct brothers passed by the Everymart, they heard what sounded like caroling. Turning to face the direction of the Everymart, they saw a number of yo-kai in a group, wearing wool beanie caps, mittens and scarves, and singing what sounded like Christmas carols. "…They do realize that it's nowhere near Christmas time, right?" Kira said to the Venoct brothers as she gestured to the caroling yo-kai.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this earlier during breakfast," Venoct said as he sounded like he just remembered something, "But Holly's Day is coming up, Kira."

"Holly's Day?" Kira repeated in a confused tone, "The heck is Holly's Day? Is that another yo-kai holiday of some kind?"

"It is," Venoct replied with a nod in the affirmative, "And it bears a number of similarities with the human holiday of Christmas."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Kira asked, "So what's the story behind Holly's Day?"

"Oh, well I'm glad that you asked that," Illuminoct began, "Because you see THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, a super-ancient entity of evil, bitter that the hero Ningirsu had stolen the heart of the girl that he fell in love with, attempted to go on a rampage to vent. It was a rampage that would have destroyed the very land that would one day go on to become Springdale. But Ningirsu, the hero that he is, stood between the evil and his venting. The two entities engaged each other in single combat, a glorious battle whose battle sounds rang in the air, creating a symphony of war that was as epic as it was hypnotically beautiful. In the end, mighty Ningirsu stood victorious, his tri-pronged spear embedded deep into the chest of his most evil opponent. But Ningirsu didn't emerge unscathed. The mighty hero was mortally wounded, an injury that would have spelled his demise. But Ningirsu's lover, the very girl that he and his foe fought to the death for, use her holy magics to heal his wound, saving his life in the process. But the wound was so great, that in order to ensure that the man she loved would live, the lady mage used so much of her magic that the effort claimed her life. Ningirsu started Holly's Day, named in honor of Holly Angel, the female who gave her life so that he would still have his."

"…That's not the story at all, Illuminoct!" Shadow Venoct said, "In fact, how did you even come up with all of that on the spot like that?!"

"What's the real story?" Kira asked, her tone clearly showing that she wanted the truth.

"A couple centuries ago," Venoct began, "There was this duchess living in the yo-kai world called Holly Angel."

"Is that name the only thing that Illuminoct got right about the story?" Kira asked.

"One of two things, actually," Venoct replied, "Anywho, one summer evening that had a disturbingly high amount of snowfall for that time of year, a yo-kai peasant could be seen walking along the fields near Holly Angel's estate. The duchess looked out her window, saw the peasant, and was worried that said peasant would suffer in the cold of the freak snowfall. Holly Angel had one of her servants bring the peasant in, she gave said peasant food and shelter for the evening, then in the morning, presented the peasant with a gift of warm clothes to wear so that he would not be cold in the summertime snow. Eventually, that peasant, inspired by the kindness that he was shown, went on to start Holly's Day, named in honor of Holly Angel."

"The fact that the holiday is named in honor of Holly Angel is the other thing that Illuminoct got right, by the way," Shadow Venoct added.

"Basically, yo-kai celebrate Holly's Day by doing the things humans do when they celebrate Christmas," Venoct said to Kira, "Cook a holiday feast, get gifts for everyone, take a holiday break from school and work-"

"Sing Holly's Day carols," Illuminoct chimed in as he jerked a thumb to the yo-kai singing carols outside of the Everymart.

"…Huh, well alright," Kira remarked. To the Venoct brothers, Kira said, "All I had in mind for today was to head on over Inaho's place to try and drill her for what happened when those yo-kai were messing with her until Atticus and the Kyubi brothers saved her. But now I'm interested in this whole Holly's Day business."

"Well my brothers and I will be more than glad to walk you through everything," Venoct replied, "Just let us know if you have any questions."

"I have a question already, but it's one that's mostly just to satisfy my curiosity," Kira said.

"Alright, shoot," Venoct remarked.

"The peasant from the real story," Kira began, "Does he have a name?"

"Ningirsu!" Illuminoct stated.

"Naganadel," Shadow Venoct corrected in an almost bored monotone.

* * *

Later over in Flower Road on Shopper's Row, Kira and the Venoct brothers stopped outside of the bookstore. "Oh, maybe they have a book of Holly's Day stories for sale here," Illuminoct remarked as he and the others stopped outside.

"A book of yo-kai stories on sale in a human bookstore?" Shadow Venoct said. Shaking his head gently, Shadow Venoct continued, "I very much doubt that."

"So, there are a number of stories that are related to Holly's Day, huh?" Kira said as she turned to regard the Venoct brothers, "Other than the story you guys told me earlier about the origin of Holly's Day, that is."

Nodding once in the affirmative, Venoct said, "There are quite a few, yes. In fact, do you want to hear a Holly's Day story that's called 'A Holly's Day Carol'?"

"Sure, why not?" Kira replied, "Assuming that Illuminoct isn't the one to tell me, that is."

With a chuckle, Venoct remarked, "I can't fault you for asking that. Okay, here's how the story goes. A long time ago, there was this very wealthy yo-kai business owner who was running his business solo because his partner had to duck out. Although the partner was something of a miser, the business owner himself was a generous employer. He paid his employees respectable wages, he gave them holidays off, and he did a number of other things that made him a pleasant yo-kai to work for."

"Sounds legit," Kira commented with a nod.

"Indeed," Venoct agreed, "Anywho, one Holly's Day Eve, the yo-kai business owner gave his employees Holly's Day off, something that his old partner wouldn't have done. That night, as the yo-kai business owner slept, he was visited by his partner. The partner warned the business owner that paying the employees respectable wages and giving them holidays off was not going to get him a lot of profit, and that only by being as miserly as the partner would the business owner get maximum income."

"That…sounds wrong on so many levels," Kira said, a mildly disgusted look on her face.

"I know," Venoct replied, "Anywho, the partner told the business owner that three other yo-kai, one representing Holly's Day past, one representing Holly's Day present, and the third representing Holly's Day future, would come to visit him to teach him the virtues of hoarding as much wealth to himself as possible."

"I get the feeling that I'm not going to like where this is going," Kira said.

"Don't worry, the three yo-kai don't do the job that the miserly yo-kai expected them to do," Venoct stated, "Anywho, the yo-kai business owner was first visited by Mermother, the yo-kai of Holly's Day past. Mermother showed the yo-kai business owner a scene from the past where he, the business owner, gave a poor yo-kai a fair sum of gummy snacks."

"This was back when gummy snacks were still used as currency in the yo-kai world," Shadow Venoct pointed out.

"Mermother then showed the yo-kai business owner that because of his generosity, the poor yo-kai and the poor yo-kai's family were able to afford to have Holly's Day dinner," Venoct went on, "Mermother then stressed to the yo-kai business owner the importance of generosity, and that continuing to do what he was already doing is the right way to go."

"Well good on her," Kira said, "So I'm guessing the yo-kai of Holly's Day present went next?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Venoct replied, "Yeah, and you may be surprised to hear who the yo-kai of Holly's Day present was."

"Who was it?" Kira asked.

"Frostail," the S-rank snake ninja yo-kai replied.

"One of the Kyubi brothers?!" Kira exclaimed.

"Keep in mind that 'A Holly's Day Carol' is a fictional story, and that the writer had to secure permission from certain specific yo-kai to use them as characters in the story," Venoct pointed out, "Luckily for the writer, Frostail gave him permission. But anywho, on with the story." Clearing his throat, Venoct continued, "Frostail took the yo-kai business owner around the town where everyone lived so that he could see how his being a pleasant yo-kai to work for was contributing greatly to his employees celebrating Holly's Day."

"In fact, one of the employees of the yo-kai business owner had a sickly child that, thanks to the yo-kai business owner being generous, was able to get the treatment she needed," Shadow Venoct added as he held his right index finger up in a gesture that was used when people are pointing something out.

"Indeed," Venoct remarked, "But anywho, Frostail basically told the yo-kai business owner not to listen to his miserly partner. After Frostail left, the yo-kai business owner was visited by Robonyan, the yo-kai of Holly's Day future."

"Robonyan?" Kira said in a confused tone, and with an expression on her face that conveyed confusion just as well.

"A robot yo-kai from the future," Venoct explained, "Anywho, Robonyan told the yo-kai business owner that because of his creating a comfortable work environment, that his business would expand in the future, netting more profit than what would happen if the business owner decided to listen to his miserly partner."

"A happy work force leads to a happy end result for the person the work force works for," Illuminoct remarked.

Nodding once in agreement with his blonde-haired brother, Venoct said, "In the end, the yo-kai business owner stuck to his being a good boss to work for, completely ignoring his old partner's advice to be miserly completely. In the morning, when it was officially Holly's Day, the yo-kai business owner stopped by the residence of his employee with the sickly daughter so he could bring said sickly daughter a plushy toy. The end."

"That was one of the best holiday stories I ever heard," Kira remarked, "It reminds me of a certain Christmas story that was written by a human, but the main character of said story didn't start off as all that nice of a character."

"Yeah, yo-kai are awesome story-writers," Illuminoct remarked as he and the others walked out of Flower Road and appeared in the open of Shopper's Row, "Although now that the subject's been brought up, I'd like to read some holiday stories written by humans."

"Maybe if we head back into Flower Road and check out the bookstore, we may find a book full of holiday stories written by humans."

"Sweetness," Illuminoct remarked as he and the rest of the group turned around and headed back into Flower Road.

* * *

Later, as Kira and the Venoct brothers, with Illuminoct nose-deep in a book of human holiday stories, walked by Triangle Park, they heard a familiar voice call out, "Oi, Kira! Venoct brothers! Over here!" Curious, Kira and her yo-kai friends looked over and saw Nate, Eddie and Bear come running up to them. It had been Eddie that had called out to them.

"Oh, hey boys, what's up?" Kira greeted.

"Nate, Bear and I saw a group of yo-kai caroling outside of the Uptown Springdale Everymart," Eddie began, "I don't suppose that any of you have any idea what that's all about, do you? Because I was half-tempted to go over and inform those yo-kai that they were celebrating Christmas way too early."

"Oh, that," Kira remarked, "Yeah, apparently there's a yo-kai holiday called Holly's Day coming up. Venoct told me that it's similar to Christmas."

"Holly's Day?" Bear asked, his expression and tone clearly conveying confusion, "Didn't the yo-kai just get done with another one of their holidays a short while ago?"

"Yeah, a lot of the major holidays celebrated by yo-kai just so happens to take place during the time that most human schoolchildren have extended time off from schools here in Japan," Venoct replied, "Kind of a weird coincidence, huh?"

"I take it that your yo-kai friends will be celebrating Holly's Day?" Eddie asked.

"I won't stop them," Kira remarked.

"So, there's two Christmases now?!" Bear said, sounding somewhat excited.

"Easy there, Bear," Kira began, "Don't get ahead of yourself like that. This is a yo-kai holiday, so I very much doubt that humans like us will get as much out of it as we get out of our own equivalent holiday in December."

"A boy can dream, Kira," Bear replied as his tone became a bit downcast, "A boy can dream."

Turning to face Nate, Venoct said, "Umm, you've been awfully quiet, Nate. Are you okay?"

"Oh, Nate's still in shock about finding out that Katie has a crush on him," Eddie explained. Crossing his arms over his chest, Eddie continued, "Of course, something like that wasn't supposed to be spoiled by Bear, but rather come from Katie herself when she finally confessed her crush."

"I said I was sorry!" Bear defended.

Turning to face Bear, Eddie said as he put his hands on his hips, "Bear, how could you not know that if you find out someone has a crush on someone else, you're not supposed to talk about it?!"

"No one ever told me I wasn't supposed to talk about that kind of stuff!" Bear said, "How was I supposed to know not to talk about it?!"

Sighing in a mildly annoyed tone, Eddie replied, "Forget it. Just remember not to blab about crushes that you find out about in the future, alright?"

"Aww, isn't this great?" Kira remarked, "We're all learning something new every day." Her tone taking on a slightly more serious hint, Kira continued, "But anyway, the Venoct brothers and I are going to do some Holly's Day stuff. If you boys want, you can feel free to join us."

"Sounds like a plan," Eddie said as he, Nate and Bear followed Kira and the Venoct brothers off to wherever they were heading, with Nate and Illuminoct still being silent due to the respective reasons that they had (Nate still being in shock and Illuminoct still reading).

* * *

Sometime later, Kira, the Venoct brothers, Nate, Eddie and Bear were walking along through Breezy Hills. As they walked, they saw some yo-kai here and there getting into the Holly's Day spirit. There were even a few humans getting into the spirit of the yo-kai holiday. "Well if the humans were able to get into the spirit of Feasting Day, then it doesn't surprise me that they're getting into the spirit of Holly's Day," Venoct remarked as he saw the celebrating humans.

"Humans sure like getting into the spirits of things, don't they?" Shadow Venoct said.

"Oh, we dabble," Kira replied as he and the rest of the group came to Eddie's place. When they did, they saw Eddie's dad wearing a large, green furry costume.

"Hey kids," Eddie's dad greeted with a wave of his hand, "I was just getting out an old holiday-related costume I had. Seeing all of those yo-kai celebrating their own version of Christmas has everyone else getting into the festive mood, so my ice skating troupe and I figured that we ought to do our group's on-ice adaption of a classic holiday story." Eddie's dad then put on a giant, grumpy-looking head mask, making himself look like some sort of green-furred monster of some sort. "What do you kids think?" Eddie's dad asked.

"Hey Kira," Illuminoct began. Looking up from the book that he was still reading, Illuminoct continued, "This is a really interesting-" The blonde-haired S-rank yo-kai stopped short upon seeing the grumpy-looking green-furred monster (really just Eddie's dad in a costume). "It's the Grump!" Illuminoct exclaimed as he pointed to Eddie's dad. Readying his fists, Illuminoct said, "I'll keep you from stealing Holly's Day from all of the good little yo-kai boys and good little yo-kai girls, you thieving jerk!"

"Uhh, Illuminoct, you may not want to-" Kira began in a mildly worried tone, but it was too late, as Illuminoct leapt forward, striking Eddie's dad in the stomach with a foot slam. After Eddie's dad fell over, Illuminoct started punching the head mask in the face repeatedly as Eddie's dad raised his hands to try and defend himself. Kira, Eddie and Nate merely sighed in a resigned tone as Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Bear all laughed.

* * *

Later on, Kira, the Venoct brothers, Nate, Eddie and Bear were walking along through Uptown Springdale. "How the heck was I supposed to know that was actually just Eddie's dad in a costume that he wears when he and his theater troupe does an on-ice adaption of some classic holiday story?" Illuminoct asked in a defensive tone.

"Well if you weren't nose deep in a book, you might have been able to pay attention to what was going on, dude," Bear said.

"Now in Illuminoct's defense, there's nothing wrong with enjoying reading," Nate remarked.

"Aha, the silence is now broken!" Kira declared upon hearing Nate finally speak. To the rest of the group, Kira continued, "But in all seriousness, we really ought to-"

"Oh, fancy seeing the lot of you out here," a familiar male voice called out, getting Kira and the rest of her group to turn and see Atticus and the Kyubi brothers come walking up. It had been Atticus who had called out to them. "I take it that you guys are trying to get into the Holly's Day spirit as well?" Atticus asked.

"Well aside from Illuminoct attacking Eddie's dad, our Holly's Day experience so far has been more or less without any major screw-ups," Kira replied.

"Wait a minute," Kyubi remarked in a mildly confused tone, "Illuminoct attacked Mr. Archer?"

"I thought that he was the Grump due to a holiday costume he was wearing!" Illuminoct nearly exclaimed in a defensive tone.

"Putting Illuminoct's trademarked stupidity aside for the moment, we were actually hoping to find you," Darkyubi said, "Well, Atticus was hoping to find Kira."

"You were hoping to find me?" Kira asked Atticus, a curious look on her face.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Atticus took out a small wrapped gift and held it out to Kira. "I figured that I should get you something in the spirit of the holiday," Atticus remarked. Tossing the gift to Kira, Atticus said, "Happy Holly's Day."

"Huh, thanks," Kira replied, caught off guard mildly by Atticus getting her a holiday gift out of the blue like this. As she pocketed the gift she received, Kira said, "You know, Atticus, I don't have anything set aside for you."

"Oh, no need to worry about any of that, Kira," Atticus remarked, "If Holly's Day is anything like Christmas, then the meaning of the holiday is more about giving than receiving."

"Oh, that reminds me," Eddie said as he tapped the one end of his fist into his hand, "I still need to head out and try and find a little gift of some sort for Inaho."

"And you mentioning Inaho reminds me of what the Venoct brothers and I were trying to do earlier, Eddie!" Kira said suddenly, smacking herself in the forehead. With all eyes on her, Kira said, "Ever since I heard about Atticus and the Kyubi brothers saving Inaho from some yo-kai trouble, I've been itching to hear the story behind it."

"The Grump doesn't try to steal Holly's Day from Inaho and her family, does he?" Illuminoct asked Atticus and the Kyubi brothers.

Sighing, Frostail said, "No, Illuminoct. The Grump is a character from a fictional story that's commonly told by humans around the time of their end of the year holiday. There's no way that a character who doesn't really exist can harass Inaho and her folks."

"You're still on about hearing that story?" Atticus asked Kira, giving her a curious and mildly amused look.

"It's kind of been bugging me for a while now," Kira admitted.

"Hmm," Atticus replied, "Is that so?" After thinking over something for a few seconds, Atticus continued, "Well if that's the case, then can you wait until the day after Holly's Day? The Kyubi brothers and I still want to celebrate the holiday."

"The day after Holly's Day?" Kira repeated in a mildly confused tone.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Atticus explained, "I'll give you more details about it later, so if you're willing to wait, then I'm willing to give you the whole story."

"Well alright!" Kira said, "About time I learned what all happened back then!"

"Indeed," Atticus remarked with a nod, "But enough of that. From what I heard, the local ice skating troupe is going to perform their on-ice adaption of 'How the Grump unlawfully took Christmas from everyone else', and I want to go see it."

"…That title sounds a bit wordy," Venoct commented, a mildly confused look on his face.

"Hey, don't look at any of us," Kyubi remarked, "None of us wrote the story."

"If I had written it, I probably would have called the story 'The tale on how one criminally inclined person known as the Grump unfairly acquiesced the Christmas holiday from every innocent civilian in a certain area'," Illuminoct said as he raised a hand.

As everyone looked at the blonde-haired S-rank yo-kai with confused looks, Illuminoct said, "When Venoct said that the first title was kind of wordy, I took it as a challenge to try and top it. How did I do?"

"To be completely honest," Darkyubi replied, "I'm surprised that you not only know the word 'acquiesce', but that you also know how to use it correctly."

* * *

About two days later, Kira walked downstairs in her and her grandmother's place after waking up. Upon reaching the first floor, Kira was greeted by the sight of her Grandma Sophia and the Venoct brothers. "Happy Holly's Day, Kira!" Sophia and the Venoct brothers all greeted in unison, mildly startling Kira due to the noise of the simultaneous greeting.

"Well now," Kira remarked as walked over to the coffee pot, "Ain't this a surprise."

"After we're done with breakfast, there's a Holly's Day gift or two for you to open, dear," Sophia remarked.

"Aww, well isn't that nice of you," Kira replied after she poured herself a mug of coffee, "I guess that it's a good thing then I had the foresight to go about getting Holly's Day gifts for everyone on my usual list."

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good," Venoct remarked, "But that's beside the point. I kind of hate to be the one to say this, but can we hurry things up? Your grandmother said that she was going to make waffles for breakfast, and her waffles are nothing short of fantastic." Sophia let out an amused and flattered chuckle in response to what Venoct said.

"I'm serious, ma'am," Venoct said as he turned to face Sophia, "The waffles you make are so good, that I bet they can be used to achieve world peace."

"Hopefully the Grump won't break in and steal all of the waffles while we're trying to have breakfast," Illuminoct swore, "I'll kick his butt if he tries."

"Well I guess that all of you will be having your usual number of waffles, then?" Sophia said in an amused tone.

"With chocolate chips, perhaps," Shadow Venoct replied in a somewhat hopeful tone. Kira's grandmother let out an amused laugh in response as she turned around to head into the kitchen. The older woman was always finding amusement with these yo-kai that her granddaughter keeps befriending. And she was always grateful for the company that they provided.

Looks like this holiday was going to be a very festive one.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Author's notes:

I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out. I'm also sorry if it's short compared to some of the other chapters in this story so far. But I've been drained due to a mix of my current semester winding down, taking care of various holiday activities such as gift shopping, being occupied by Ultra Sun (which I finally got around the beginning of December 2017), and working on some of my other stories. Also, yes; Eddie's dad belongs to an ice skating troupe, and that was the costume that Mr. Archer has to wear for his role in the holiday performance that his troupe does.

EDIT ON 1-24-18: I had to make some changes to the story, mainly in chapters six, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and this chapter, what with getting rid of all of the bold text that appeared at the ends of those chapters. I'm sorry, but I just really don't like the feeling of having to answer questions from comments and reviews in that fashion. From this point onward, I'm going to be ignoring any such questions posed to me in the comments, _especially_ if I feel that the question is inappropriate.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter eighteen: Storytime behind the waterfall

After trekking through the Abandoned Tunnel up on Mount Wildwood one evening, Kira and her three main yo-kai friends, Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, made their way to the entrance to a cave located behind the waterfall up on Mount Wildwood. Going into the cave, Kira and her posse found the shrine located in the cave. Near the shrine, Kira found who she came all this way to find; Atticus, the only other person with a Yo-kai Watch, similar to Kira herself. With the thirteen-year-old boy who befriends yo-kai were his three main yo-kai friends, Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi.

"Why did you make us come all the way here just to hear the story again?" Kira asked as she and her yo-kai friends gave Atticus and his yo-kai friends a questioning look.

"Tell me, Kira," Atticus began, "Would you say all of that trekking you and the Venoct brothers did was a good bit of exercise?"

"I'd certainly say that," Venoct remarked, "But I don't see how that has to do with making Kira, my brothers and I come all the way up here."

"You'd be surprise how much that has to do with our story," Kyubi said in a casual tone.

"Yeah, your story," Kira began, "The story of what happened when you lot saved Eddie's girlfriend Inaho from yo-kai influence."

Nodding in the affirmative, Atticus said, "Yeah, and since now you and the Venoct brothers are all here, we might as well get started with our story. Now then, our story begins a while before that video contest between Bear and his group versus Katie and her group…" Kira and the Venoct brother all gave Atticus their full attention as the story began.

* * *

(FLASHBACK)

Atticus, with the Kyubi brothers following him, walked up to the door of an apartment located in the apartment building in the Breezy Hills area. "This is the home of that Riku boy?" Frostail asked as he eyed the door that the group stopped in front of.

Reaching into a pocket on the back of his cargo shorts, Atticus pulled out a small folded sheet of paper. Unfolding it, Atticus read what was written on it. "…Yep, this is the place," Atticus remarked before folding the paper back up and slipping it back into the pocket he pulled it out of. The thirteen-year-old boy then knocked on the front door, and within a few seconds, the door was opened by a boy a few years younger than Atticus.

"Are you Riku?" Atticus asked as he and the Kyubi brothers looked at the child.

"Yeah, I'm Riku," the boy replied, identifying himself as the Riku boy that Atticus was looking for, "Come on in." Atticus and the Kyubi brothers accepted Riku's invitation, and followed him into the apartment. Upon entering the living room, Atticus and his yo-kai friends saw Inaho lounging on the sofa, practically melting into it. Gesturing to Inaho, Riku said, "I know my older sister is kind of a lazy nerd, but this level of laziness is far beyond anything I've ever seen. Everything I've tried to get Inaho to get up and get going has failed so far."

Atticus took a quick look at Inaho, observing how lazy she's being, and the relaxed, almost dopey expression on the eleven-year-old girl's face. "…Alright, let's see what we can find," Atticus said as he held up his Yo-kai Watch, popped the lens up, and began to scan around the apartment. Within a few seconds, Atticus found something with his Yo-kai Watch, and after scanning it for a few more seconds, he uncovered a trio of yo-kai that were katanas with faces, arms and legs on the hilts. Each katana yo-kai had multiple blades that resembled dreadlocks.

"Cutta-nah-nah," Atticus remarked, "A yo-kai heavily related to Cutta-nah, who has the power to make people into lazy slack-offs. It stands to reason that Cutta-nah-nah's powers are similar to that of Cutta-nah's powers."

"So, what are we going to do?" Riku asked, "I mean, I don't want my older sister to laze about so much that she turns into a melted puddle of goo, which she's-"

Riku was cut off when Kyubi used his elemental attack to strike one of the Cutta-nah-nahs, which was followed by Frostail striking a second Cutta-nah-nah with his elemental attack, and that was followed by Darkyubi using his powerful drain attack on the third Cutta-nah-nah. All three of the sword yo-kai were defeated, and all of them poofed away in swirling clouds of purple smoke upon defeat. When they were all gone, Inaho started to get up, the influence of the Cutta-nah-nahs having worn off.

"What's happened?" Inaho asked as she tried to regain her bearings.

"Your little brother hired my yo-kai friends and I for a job that we just took care of," Atticus explained, getting the eleven-year-old girl to look over and see him and the Kyubi brothers, "Once we collect our payment for the job, we'll be concluding our-"

"ARE THOSE YO-KAI?!" Inaho exclaimed excitedly, cutting Atticus off and surprising him and the Kyubi brothers. Within one second, Inaho rushed over and started to pretty much fangirl over seeing yo-kai as awesome as Kyubi, Frostail and Darkyubi.

"…Well at least she appreciates my brothers and I saving her from yo-kai influence," Darkyubi remarked dryly as Inaho excitedly ran around him and his brothers to get a good look at them from all angles.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

* * *

"…Huh, so Inaho got a trio of Cutta-nah-nahs," Kira remarked as Atticus finished up the first part of the story.

"I wish that was the case that we had to deal with a while ago," Shadow Venoct muttered to himself, sounding a little jealous.

Nodding a bit in the affirmative, Atticus said, "Yeah. Now onto what happened the next day."

* * *

(FLASHBACK)

Atticus and the Kyubi brothers returned to Riku's family's apartment the following day. For some reason, Atticus was carrying a fairly small duffle bag, as if he were preparing to head to a gym to work out. "We're going to do a job that's a follow-up to the one we completed yesterday?" Darkyubi asked in a curious tone as he, his brothers and their human friend walked up to the apartment door.

"Well Riku thought that it'd be a good idea for us to come back over," Atticus replied before he knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door was opened by an adult woman, who eyes Atticus with some confusion.

"…Can I help you, young man?" the woman asked.

"Yes, I'm here to see Riku and Inaho," Atticus explained to the woman, "Riku asked me to come over today to help him with something having to do with his sis-"

"Oh, there you are," Riku's familiar voice called out, getting the woman at the door to turn and see Riku come up. Looking up to the adult woman, Riku said, "It's alright, mom, I invited him over."

"He seems a bit…old to be a friend of yours from school, sweetie," the adult woman, identified as Riku's (and Inaho's) mother, remarked to her young son.

"Actually, he's one of the two people who's been doing yo-kai related jobs," Riku explained, "I hired him yesterday to save Inaho from a bunch of yo-kai that were making her much lazier than normal, and I asked him to come back today to help me get Inaho to the Springdale Sports Club because she needs to get out more."

"I won't argue with that," Riku's mother remarked. Turning around to look into the apartment, Riku's mother called out, "Hey, Inaho! You got a visitor!"

"Can't they just come in instead of me heading out to see them?" Inaho called back, "I'm in the middle of a boss battle in here!"

"Inaho Hailey Anne Thomas Misora, you get your butt out here right now!" Riku's mother shouted, and a few seconds after Inaho called out something about pausing her game, the girl herself came walking into view. She had a grumpy expression at first, but her mood clearly lightened up considerably upon seeing that the visitors were Atticus and the Kyubi brothers.

"Oh! It's you guys from yesterday!" Inaho greeted in a friendly tone, "What do you need?"

"I need for you to get something to serve as a gym bag," Atticus began, "Throw a set of work out clothes, a swimsuit, and an outfit for martial arts sparing into said gym bag, then come with me, your brother and the Kyubi brothers. We're heading to the Springdale Sports Center."

"Can…can we just hang out here and play video games all day today?" Inaho asked. In response to the eleven-year-old girl's question, Kyubi held his right hand up with the palm facing upwards. A small pillar of flame, about eight inches tall, ignited and lit up in the center of the palm. The S-rank kitsune yo-kai gave Inaho a knowing look. Knowing full well that she wasn't going to get out of this, Inaho sighed in a defeated tone. "…Let me just turn my system off," Inaho replied as she turned around to head into her room.

"Yeah, I'll be going along to make sure you don't try to get out of this," Riku remarked dryly, "And don't worry. I already got your gym bag ready, along with a gym bag for myself."

(FLASHBACK OVER)

* * *

"So…so you guys dragged Inaho to the Springdale Sports Center to get her to work out because her little brother was worried that her lazy lifestyle might lead to some troubles down the road?" Kira asked.

"Mmm…kind of," Atticus replied, "Just because a person doesn't have a weight problem doesn't necessarily mean that the person in question is in respectable physical shape. The follow-up job that the Kyubi brothers and I were hired to do involved getting Inaho to exercise so that she could get into shape."

"Oh, so you guys were basically hired to make sure Eddie's girlfriend didn't become one of those skinny, out of shape nerds," Illuminoct said as he raised a hand.

"…Basically," Darkyubi remarked, seeing that Illuminoct, in his own way, pretty much summed up the job that the Kyubi brothers and Atticus did.

"So anywho," Kira began, "You guys and Inaho's little brother dragged Inaho to the Springdale Sports Club. What happened next?"

"I was just about to continue the story…" Atticus replied.

* * *

(FLASHBACK)

Over in the top floor of the Springdale Sports Club, Inaho was standing around with Riku and the Kyubi brothers, waiting for Atticus to get finished changing. Riku was wearing his outfit for working out, which consisted of a white-colored men's tank top, a pair of red gym shorts, light gray sneakers and a pair of socks that went halfway up his shins.

…As for Inaho's choice of outfit, she was wearing a green thong leotard, a red beret, black boots that went halfway up her shins, and red fingerless gloves that nearly reached her elbows. Oh, and Inaho also had her hair in twin pigtails. "Is this what female humans normally wear when they go to a gym to work out?" Frostail asked as he gestured to Inaho with his right hand.

"No, but then again my older sister is far from normal," Riku remarked.

"Alright, sorry for keeping you all waiting," Atticus's voice called out, prompting everyone to look over and see Atticus walk out into view. He was wearing a dark gray sleeveless gi, a pair of karate pants of the same color, a black martial arts belt, brown fingerless gloves, and around his neck he wore a prayer bead necklace around his neck; the beads were dark colored, the size of fairly large marbles, and looked to be made of smoothed wood. Atticus's hair was also in a men's ponytail, to keep it from getting in the way while he worked out. After he came out from changing, Atticus got a good look at Inaho's outfit.

"…You look less like you're getting ready for a martial arts spar, and more like you're getting ready to head to an anime convention," Atticus remarked as he pointed to Inaho.

"Well this is what I have," Inaho replied. With a hint of uncertainty seeping into her tone, Inaho continued, "Are you sure you want me to fight you?"

"Riku told me that your parents once had you take martial arts lessons," Atticus began. After assuming a stance for fighting, Atticus continued, "The first part of your work out regiment is seeing how much of what you learned back when you took those lessons you still know." Inaho assumed her own stance for fighting, albeit somewhat nervously.

"And begin!" Riku declared as he raised a hand up quickly, as if he were a referee announcing the beginning of a fight.

"Hey, wait!" Inaho said quickly in something of a panic, "I'm not ready ye-" Inaho was cut off when Atticus struck Inaho with an uppercut with such force that it made him soar up into the air a bit in a spinning pattern.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

* * *

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, hold up there," Kira said as she got Atticus and the Kyubi brothers to regard her and the Venoct brothers. Giving Atticus a confused look, Kira said, "You actually _punched_ Inaho?!"

"I wanted to see how much of her martial arts training she retained," Atticus replied, "As it turned out, she retained pretty much none of it." With a sigh, Atticus said, "I kind of had to be hard on Inaho, seeing as how I was hired to basically get her back into shape."

"I wish we had gotten ahold of you rather than a certain someone else whose name I do not wish to speak aloud," Shadow Venoct remarked.

"Relax, dude," Venoct said to his shadowy brother. Turning back to face Atticus and the Kyubi brothers, Venoct said as he gestured to Atticus with his right hand, "Please continue."

"Thanks," Atticus replied with a nod, "Now then, we tried swimming next…"

* * *

(FLASHBACK)

"Wow, I'm surprised that the Springdale Sports Club got a swimming pool installed," Inaho remarked as she walked into the large room where an Olympic-sized swimming pool had been built. Inaho was wearing a simple two-piece pink swimming suit. As for Atticus and Riku, they wore swimming trunks, with Atticus's trunks having black trim and Riku's trunks having white trim. Turning around to face the boys and the Kyubi brothers, Inaho said, "So we're all going to swim in the pool now?"

"Actually, only you are going to swim," Atticus replied, "At first, at least." Pulling out a stop watch, Atticus explained, "The next part of your workout will have you start at the one end of the pool, swim all the way to the other end, then swim back. I'm going to be timing you."

"Hey wait," Inaho began in a suspicious tone, "If I was the only one going to be swimming, how come you and Riku both changed into swimming trunks?"

"We're all in the pool room, so we might as well be dressed to go swimming," Atticus pointed out, "Also, we're wearing our trunks in case one of us has to dive into the pool to pull you out if you start to struggle with swimming."

"Oh pfft," Inaho said in a dismissive tone, "I'll have you know I'm perfectly capable of swimming." Inaho then turned around, walked to the one end of the pool, and dived in. However, as soon as she dove into the pool, she started splashing around in something of a panic. Looking at the end in which Inaho dove into, Atticus saw that she dove into the deep end, rather than the shallow end like he was intending. The thirteen-year-old boy dove into the deep end, grabbed Inaho, dragged her to the edge of the pool, and climbed out with her.

"…And this is why you wait until I give you _all_ of the instructions," Atticus said after Inaho had calmed down from her struggles in trying to swim.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

* * *

"…Yeah, I can see why she should have waited until you finished explaining everything," Venoct remarked, "You would have led her to the shallow end so she could have started the swimming exercise more safely."

"I didn't know that the Springdale Sports Club had a pool," Kira remarked, "I never saw a pool over there when the Venoct brothers and I went over there with Sergeant Burly that one time."

"That's because the club had to get rid of the pool because a bunch of yo-kai thought it was a single large communal toilet," Atticus explained.

"Gross," Kira replied in a casual tone without missing a beat.

"Indeed," Atticus said in a tone of agreement, "But anywho, on with the story. This next part may be something that will grab your attention…"

* * *

(FLASHBACK)

After the whole incident at the pool, Atticus, Riku and the Kyubi brothers took Inaho to do some regular working out, once everyone was dressed in their regular working out outfits. Atticus was wearing an outfit similar to Riku's except Atticus's tank top was red, his red gym shorts had black trim, and he was back to wearing that prayer bead necklace. Inaho's outfit for working out was basically the same thing as what the boys were wearing, but Inaho's outfit had the same color scheme as her usual day-to-day outfit. Inaho was running on a treadmill while Atticus stood nearby, holding his stop watch.

"And…stop!" Atticus said as he pressed a button on his stop watch, prompting Inaho to press a stop button on the treadmill's console, making the treadmill stop with such force and suddenness that Inaho very nearly fell off in a comical fashion.

"How *huff* did I *huff* *huff* do?" Inaho asked, clearly sounding like she was out of breath.

"Better than what I was expecting, given that we just started this part," Atticus remarked, "But we still have some ways to go."

"Dang it," Inaho sulked, still trying to catch her breath.

"…" After seeing how exhausted Inaho was, Atticus said, "…Alright, we ought to take a break."

"Thank goodness!" Inaho exclaimed as she pretty much fell back and onto her butt, landing with something of a thud. "Ow!" Inaho exclaimed, sucking in a bit of air in a manner that conveyed that the eleven-year-old girl was in great pain. As she tried to get up, a hand held itself out to Inaho. It wasn't one of the Kyubi brothers offering to help her up, given that the hand was a human hand, nor was it Atticus or Riku, as they both stood a good few feet away from Inaho. Looking up at the person offering to help her up, Inaho saw that it was Eddie Archer. He was wearing a white men's tank top, a pair of black gym shorts, white sneakers, white socks that reached halfway up his shins, and around his neck was a towel.

"You alright?" Eddie asked in a friendly tone. A bit embarrassed because a boy she thought looked cute was offering to help her up, Inaho gingerly accepted Eddie's hand, and after that he pulled her up off of the floor.

"Umm, sorry a-about that," Inaho said in a bit of a stammer, "But I'm t-trying to get back into s-shape. I kind of had a h-habit of lazing about."

"Yeah, I'd be lying if I said that I'm not guilty of that myself from time to time," Eddie replied, "I just came here to blow off some steam."

"Blow off some steam, you say," Darkyubi remarked, getting Eddie's attention, "Did you get into an argument with some friends?"

Turning to regard Atticus and the Kyubi brothers, Eddie said, "Hey, aren't you those guys that the girls at my school frequently get to solve their yo-kai related problems for them?"

"Yeah, that would be us," Atticus answered, "The Kyubi brothers and I are currently helping to get Inaho here into shape, as it's the job that her younger brother Riku hired us to do."

"…You guys are work out coaches now?" Eddie asked, a mildly confused look on his face.

"Well this is related to a previous job that we finished involving breaking the influence that a trio of Cutta-nah-nahs were having on Inaho," Kyubi explained, "So to a certain extent, this job is still yo-kai related."

"…Alright, that makes sense," Eddie replied with a shrug. Turning to face Inaho, Eddie said, "Would it be okay if I join you guys? It's better to work out in a group, but I came here alone."

"I don't see why not," Atticus said. After Inaho had enough time to rest up, the group went over to where some punching bags had been set up. As Inaho, acting under Atticus's instructions, went at one of the punching bags, Eddie turned to regard Atticus while the Kyubi brothers and Riku kept an eye on Inaho.

"Wow, you must be pretty effective as a workout coach if Inaho's looking this good so far," Eddie said to Atticus.

"Well I try to keep in shape myself," Atticus replied, "I'm basically making Inaho work out with me while having her do what I say."

"You know, Atticus," Eddie began, "The mom of a friend of mine is getting rather big. Maybe I can tell my friend about what you're doing with Inaho so that you can do the same to help his mom get back down to a reasonable weight."

"I'll…consider it," Atticus replied, "Although I will most likely have to decline taking the job. Unless of course your friend's mother gaining weight is somehow related to yo-kai."

"Ehh, I figured that I'd at least try," Eddie remarked with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

* * *

"…Eddie and Inaho met one time before that," Atticus said to Kira and the Venoct brothers, "But that was their first formal meeting, the time that they got to get to know each other properly."

"They met at the gym?" Kira said, a mild hint of surprise in her tone.

Kyubi nodded once in the affirmative before saying, "You could say that it's thanks to Atticus, my brothers and I that Inaho and Eddie got to meet. allowing their relationship to start."

"After Eddie met us at the gym, he joined our group and worked out with us," Atticus remarked, "Beyond that, the only thing of significance that happened was Eddie asking Inaho out, signifying the beginning of them dating." As everyone was sitting on the ground at that point, Atticus and the Kyubi brothers stood up, prompting Kira and the Venoct brothers to stand up. "So, yeah," Atticus said, "That's basically the story of what happened."

"Huh, well thanks for telling me," Kira replied, "Although I can't help but wonder why Inaho would be so hesitant to tell me about that part of her past."

"Maybe because of all of her fails while she was working out with Atticus?" Illuminoct suggested, drawing a nod of agreement out of his and his brothers' human friend.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Author's notes:

…Wow, sorry about taking so long with updating this story. I had other things eating into my time. Well anywho, this was chapter eighteen. Here's hoping that the next chapter will be out before long.

And as a reminder, I am _no longer_ going to be answering questions from comments at the end of chapters. Trying to keep up with all of that was getting to be just too much for me.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Chapter nineteen: Extracurricular Assist

Kira, a girl living in the Uptown Springdale area, was going over her collection of Yo-kai medals on day in the house where she lived with her grandmother. Kira is one of the two people who befriends yo-kai, which are various spirits who, due to a phenomena roughly two years ago, can now be seen by a fair percentage of the human populations of the Springdale, Harrisville and San Fantastico areas, whereas beforehand, you'd need a Yo-kai Watch in order to see the spirits, talk to them, not have to fear them, and always have them hear you.

A yo-kai medal is a medal (duh) that Kira gets from a yo-kai when she befriends that yo-kai; sticking a medal in her Yo-kai Watch allows Kira to summon the yo-kai who she got that medal from. The reason why Kira was going over her collection of various yo-kai medals is because-

"Yo, Kira," a familiar male voice called out, getting Kira to look up from her Medallium and see Venoct, Shadow Venoct and Illuminoct, her three closest yo-kai friends, entering the room. It was Venoct who had spoken. Seeing what his human friend was doing, Venoct put his hands on his hips and gave Kira a knowing look. "…Keen on trying to befriend another Legendary yo-kai, I take it?" Venoct asked.

"To be honest, when our posse got its first Legendary yo-kai friend," Kira began, "I was kind of banking on getting someone who's a butt-kicking fighter, sort of like Atticus's pal Shogunyan."

"Now in Dandoodle's defense," Illuminoct began as he held up an index finger, "He can make a toaster treat that equal parts handsome and delicious."

"Yes, yes," Kira replied, "And Dandoodle is surprisingly good at healing, so if you guys ever get into a fight with another yo-kai, then Dandoodle can sort of be your white mage." Standing up from where she sat on the floor in her bedroom, the thirteen-year-old girl continued, "But like I said, I was hoping for someone along the lines of Shogunyan, not someone who can make anyone and anything, toaster treats included, handsome."

"I see what you're getting at, Kira," Shadow Venoct remarked, "Having a Legendary yo-kai whose battle prowess is on par with that of Shogun-" The S-rank rare yo-kai was cut off when there was a knock at Kira's bedroom door, which Venoct answered. As such, Kira and the Venoct brothers saw Kira's grandmother Sophia standing there.

"Kira, sweetie, some teachers from Springdale Elementary are here to talk to you," Sophia remarked, "They said that they need help from you and your yo-kai pals for something."

"Teachers from the nearby elementary school want to hire us for a job?" Kira said in a confused tone as she and the Venoct brothers followed Sophia down the stairs. When everyone got down onto the first floor and moved to the living room, Kira saw Joe Johnson, the fifth-grade homeroom teacher, and Clint Barton, the bishouen science teacher, sitting together on the sofa. When she saw those two specific teachers, Kira waved a hand in greeting. "What's up?" Kira greeted in a friendly tone as she and the Venoct brothers walked over to Joe and Clint.

"Clint here and I are in need of some help," Joe explained, "Help that only you or that Atticus boy can provide. And since a lot of the boys from my homeroom class at Springdale Elementary recommended you, Clint and I figured that you and your friends here would be willing to hear us out." Clint nodded in agreement after Joe had finished talking.

"What do you fine gentlemen ne-" Venoct began, but he was cut off when Illuminoct walked over to the two teachers, faced Clint specifically, then pulled out a small suction cup-like item, stuck it to Clint's forehead, then pulled out a hand-held device of some sort and activated it. The device made some noises before giving out a 'bing' sound.

Taking the suction cup off of Clint's forehead, Illuminoct said, "Yup, this dude isn't a yo-kai." After slipping the device and the suction cup back away, Illuminoct continued in a justified-sounding tone, "I figured as much."

"Wait, what?" Kira asked, looking both lost and confused.

Jerking a thumb at Clint, Illuminoct said as he turned to face his human friend, "There was a rumor going around that this dude here is a yo-kai, and I've been aching to see if it was true or not. The little test I just did confirmed that this dude here is in fact _NOT_ a yo-kai."

"People thought I was a yo-kai?" Clint said in a confused tone, clearly looking like he just learned something completely new.

"Forget it, sir," Kira said to the bishouen science teacher. To both teachers as a whole, Kira continued, "Now then. Since Illuminoct got his stupidity out of the way for the time being, would the two of mind telling me what it is that you need me and my yo-kai posse to help you guys out with?"

"It has to do with the summer play that took place a while ago," Joe explained, "Remember when I had the students of my homeroom class act in a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?"

"Yeah, and I still have to question some of your choices when it came to casting which person in which role," Kira remarked as she crossed her arms over her chest while nodding a few times. The Venoct brothers all mirrored this gesture of their human friend.

"That's actually why Clint and I are in a bit of a pickle, believe it or not," Joe said, a mildly embarrassed look on his face, "You see, this is what happened at a parent-teacher meeting yesterday afternoon…"

(FLASHBACK)

Joe, Clint and the Principal of Springdale Elementary were in a classroom, standing at the front as a number of parents were seated at the desks in the classroom. All of the parents looked quite unhappy, and a few were even rambling on in argumentative tones. "Now, now, settle down, folks," the Principal remarked as he tried to get the angry parents to calm down, "I know that some of you are a bit upset with how-"

"A _bit_ upset?!" one woman screamed, "That idiot Joe cast my daughter Alex in the role of a boy character in that play! Do you have any idea how much that could confuse my daughter?!"

"He also cast my son Nate in the role of the fat kid!" Lily Adams snapped, "Nate is nowhere near big enough for that to work! And now he has some minor issues with his weight and image!"

"And what the name of Amaterasu made you think that it was a good idea to cast that surprisingly handsome science teacher as one of the Oompa-Loompas?!" another mother demanded, "I'm not the only parent who feels uncomfortable with the fact that their child was alone backstage with an adult at one point!"

"Surprisingly handsome?" Clint repeated in a confused and mildly surprised tone.

"Okay," Joe began in a mildly annoyed tone at the parents, "First off, we teachers would never do anything that isn't warranted to your children, so that comment about Clint being alone backstage was uncalled for. Second off, Lily, the reason why Nate got the role of Augustus Gloop is because I flipped coin to determine whether to give the role to Nate or Eddie, with the other boy getting the role of Charlie Bucket. Third off, I didn't know that Alex was a girl at the time, so I-"

"YOU COULDN'T TELL THAT MY DAUGHTER IS A GIRL?!" Alex's mother exclaimed, near at the top of her lungs, if not really at the top of her lungs.

"In Joe's defense," Clint began, "Alex _does_ dress in a manner that many people would normally attribute to boys in her age group."

"That's still no excuse!" Alex's mother declared, having calmed down a bit (she was still quite livid, though).

"People, people, please," the Principal said as he tried to get the group of parents, most of which were livid mothers, to settle back down, "Rest assured that we here at Springdale Elementary School will personally see to it that this whole unfortunate mess will be cleaned up, and that all involved parties will be satisfied by the end of things." The parents, however begrudgingly, all agreed to let the school try to clean things up here.

After the parents all took their leave, the Principal turned to face both Joe and Clint. "You two better figure out a way to fix this mess," the Principal said in a warning tone, "I don't want to have to deal with a group of parents that at least eighty percent angry mothers again. Do I make myself clear?" Both Joe and Clint gulped nervously.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

In the living room of the house where Kira and her grandmother lived, Joe said as he and Clint sat on the sofa, "It was a good thing that I had the foresight to lie about figuring out whether to give the role of Augustus Gloop to either Nate or Eddie. My _actual_ choices were Nate or Katie."

"And here I thought Illuminoct was stupid," Shadow Venoct commented casually.

"So, let me get this straight," Kira began, "Because of how badly you botched that school play from a while ago, you have a lot of angry parents wanting to put you both to the burning stake, and you need me and my yo-kai posse to help you two come up with a plan to save both of your respective sorry rear ends." Giving both of the teachers a serious look, Kira continued, "Do I have everything here perfectly straight?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Joe replied, with Clint nodding in agreement.

Sighing in a resigned tone, Kira said, "Alright, let me think of a game plan for a bit." The thirteen-year-old girl closed her eyes and wore a look of concentration on her face, clearly going over a few things in her head. Likewise, the Venoct brothers all began to think about how to go about helping the two teachers that are in trouble. After about a minute, Kira said, "I got it."

"What's up?" Joe asked.

"The boys here and I will go visit all of the kids who were in the play and get their two cents on the matter," Kira began, "See who really was upset with what happened. Once that's taken care of, you guys should try to work on another school play, this time without making any of the mistakes that were made last time." Standing up from where she sat, Kira continued, "If all of the parents see that you guys are acting properly, their anger should dissipate."

"That's…not a bad idea, actually," Clint remarked. Turning to face Joe, Clint asked, "What do you think?"

"It's the best bet that we've got right now, so I'm not going to complain," Joe replied. Turning his head to regard Kira and the Venoct brothers, Joe said, "Alright, Kira. Clint and I are going to trust you and your yo-kai friends to pull through here." Clasping his hands together in a gesture to convey pleading, Joe added, "Help us, Kira. You're our only hope."

* * *

After getting contact info from Joe and Clint so she can inform them when she and the Venoct brothers are done, Kira went about visiting all of the kids that were in Joe's botched attempt of a production of his favorite book. The first kid that Kira and the Venoct brothers decided to visit was Lulu. When they found her at the Candy Shop in Blossom Heights, she was with Bear, who was also in the play. This allowed Kira and the Venoct brothers to take care of two kids at once.

"I'm not upset with that," Bear replied to Kira and the Venoct brothers when they told him what they were doing and asked him about how he felt about he play, "In fact, I actually enjoyed my time in the play that me and Lulu's class performed."

"I also didn't have a problem with acting in the play, nor did I have a problem with the role I was given," Lulu remarked.

"Yeah, well a lot of parents are upset with some of the casting choices your homeroom teacher made," Kira pointed out to the two fifth-graders.

"Such as…" Lulu remarked, trailing off in a manner that showed she expected to be filled in.

"Alex's mom is mad that Alex was cast as a boy character," Illuminoct explained as he began to list things off of the tips of his fingers, "Mrs. Adams is upset over the role Nate was given, and a lot of parents weren't happy that your science teacher was cast in the play for some odd reason."

"Actually," Bear began in a tone of subdued surprise, "Now that I think about it, it probably would have made more sense if I played Nate's role and vice-versa. In fact, I think Mr. Johnson was trying to decide between whether Nate or Eddie would get the role of Augustus Gloop."

"Mr. Johnson was actually trying to choose between Nate or Katie for that role, but that's beside the point," Kira remarked casually, "Look, you two. Both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton are in a bit of a pickle here, and unless the Venoct brothers and I can pull through here, both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton could wind up in even more trouble. The Venoct brothers and I already told the teachers that we'd get your opinions and the opinions of everyone else who was in the play, then once we determined what has to be addressed personally, your class will get ready for another class play, only this time things will be done properly."

"We're going to act in another play?" Lulu asked, a mildly confused look on her face.

"If you don't, then there's a fair chance that Mr. Johnson and or Mr. Barton will both lose their respective jobs," Kira pointed out dryly.

"I'm in," Bear remarked.

"Me too," Lulu declared.

"Well alright," Venoct remarked, "Glad to see that we got at least the two of you on board for the effort to save the respective rear ends of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton."

"Yeah, I'm sure your teachers will thank you for your efforts," Kira said, "Anywho, the Venoct brothers and I have to go see a few other people on the list."

"Don't let us stop you," Lulu remarked as she and Bear waved Kira and the Venoct brothers good-bye.

* * *

Later, Kira and the Venoct brothers were able to find Katie and Alex hanging out at the café in Downtown Springdale. Kira and her yo-kai friends had just finished telling the two girls about the meeting they had with Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton and had reached the point where they were asking the girls for their opinion on the matter. "Wait a minute," Katie began in a tone that was three parts annoyed, two parts angry and five parts confused, "Mr. Johnson might have given me the role of that fat kid?!"

"Your homeroom teacher's an idiot, but that's beside the point," Kira replied, "Look, girls. Both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton are in some serious trouble here, and unless you and all of your classmates in Mr. Johnson's class can pull together, there's a fair chance that one or both men could wind up losing their jobs due to incompetency."

"I don't really see what the big deal is," Alex remarked, "I mean, I pretty much aced it in the role that I was given in that play."

"Your mom's upset that you, a girl, were given the role of a boy character," Venoct explained to Alex, "She's afraid that you being given a role that doesn't match your gender might end up doing something to confuse you, or whatever."

Putting her hands on her hips, Alex said in a mildly unamused tone, "Pfft, yeah, that sounds like my mom, alright." Shaking her head gently in a manner to convey mild disappointment, Alex continued, "She has no idea how to relax and not be so uptight. Quite a shame, really."

"Look, girls, here's the deal," Shadow Venoct said to the two fifth-grade girls, "Your homeroom teacher and your science teacher is going to try to hold another school play, where you and your classmates from homeroom will be acting. Only this time, things are going to be done properly. You and the rest of your friends and classmates are going to have to pull together on this one, or the two aforementioned teachers can kiss their jobs good-bye."

"He's right," Kira said to the girls, a mild hint of seriousness in her tone, "The careers of both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton are in your hands."

"Yeah, I got no problem acting in another school play," Alex replied, "And before my mother says anything, tell her that I got no problem playing a boy character."

"Well you _are_ the girl who describes herself as being part Arthur Curry, part Rick Sanchez and part Tyrion Lannister," Kira remarked dryly in a knowing tone.

"…Dude," Illuminoct said to Alex in a clearly impressed tone, "You sound _awesome_."

Turning to face Katie, Kira said to her, "What about you, Katie? Are you on board with acting in another school play to try and save the careers of two of your teachers?"

With a dry and unamused expression on her face, Katie said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "…Will Mr. Johnson be in charge of determining who gets what role again?"

"We…actually haven't decided on how to go about determining who gets what role in the play," Venoct explained, sounding mildly surprised with himself, "We haven't even determined what play we're going to do yet."

Pointing to Kira and the Venoct brothers with her right index finger while holding her left hand on her hip, Katie replied, "Then you four will be in charge of that. I recall that when you went over the casting list that Mr. Johnson had for the play, the lot of you all questioned the choices that Mr. Johnson made when it came to deciding who gets what role. That tells me that you all will be a lot more competent when handing out roles in the play."

"A lot more competent that your homeroom teacher, that's for sure," Illuminoct said casually. Both of the fifth-grade girls nodded in agreement with what the blonde-haired S-rank rare yo-kai had just said.

"So, I take it that this means that both of you girls will be willing to act in the play?" Kira asked. After both Katie and Alex nodded in the affirmative, Kira clapped her hands together and said, "Great! Now that the Venoct brothers and I got you two to agree, we're up to four students from your homeroom class!"

"We still have quite a bit of recruiting to do, though," Venoct pointed out to his human friend.

Nodding gently in agreement, Kira said, "I know, I know. We still have a bit of a way to go."

* * *

Later, Kira and the Venoct brothers found Nate, Eddie and Inaho in the park in Breezy Hills; Eddie was trying to do tricks on his bike in an attempt to impress Inaho, while Inaho herself and Nate stood by to watch. After Kira and the Venoct brothers came over, Eddie stopped trying to pull off bike tricks and came over to where Kira and her yo-kai friends were talking to Nate and Inaho. "…Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton are going to try to throw another school play, and they need me, Nate and everyone in our homeroom class who had roles in Mr. Johnson's last play to act in the new one?" Eddie asked, a mildly confused look on his face.

"There's a fair chance that at least one of them might end up getting the boot," Kira explained to the fifth-grade boys.

"Yeah, Mr. Emon doesn't do anything stupid, unlike Mr. Johnson," Inaho remarked.

"I've entertained flights of fancy where I was transferred to Inaho's homeroom class so that I'd have a homeroom teacher who wasn't an incompetent moron," Eddie said casually, drawing a bit of a cute giggle out of Inaho.

"Even though Mr. Johnson sometimes makes Illuminoct look like Kyubi by comparison, that doesn't change the fact that he and Mr. Barton both need the help of you and all of your classmates in your homeroom class," Kira pointed out, "Would you be willing to act in this second school play if doing so will lead to the respective jobs of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton being saved?"

With a shrug of his shoulders that was more or less indifferent, Eddie replied, "Ehh, I got nothing else going on, so why not?"

"I'd be willing to act in the play as well if Mr. Johnson is a little short on students," Inaho remarked, "I'll have to ask Mr. Emon if it's okay to act in a play being thrown by another homeroom class, but I highly doubt that he'll have a problem."

"Yeah, Mr. Emon is a pretty chill person," Eddie remarked after turning to face Inaho. Turning to face Nate, Eddie said, "What about you, Nate? Are you in as well?"

"I…don't have to play a role that will make me hate myself and how I look, will I?" Nate asked, clearly sounding concerned and a little worried.

" _Wow_ , _I guess that what the teachers mentioned about what Mrs_. _Adams said wasn_ ' _t too far off the mark_ ," Kira thought. Shaking her head gently, Kira said out loud, "Don't worry, Nate. The Venoct brothers and I are going to be handling the casting of the roles in this second play. Once the Venoct brothers and I settle on what play to do, all you and your classmates from homeroom have to worry about is showing up."

"…Okay, then," Nate replied after thinking about it for a few seconds, nodding once in a confirming manner.

"Looks like we're on a role here!" Venoct said as he pumped a fist into the air, getting his brothers and Kira to cheer in agreement.

* * *

After a set amount of time, Kira and the Venoct brothers were able to not only meet with all of the kids in Mr. Johnson's homeroom class but got all of them to agree to act in the second school play that Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton were going to be throwing. Kira and the Venoct brothers were also able to pick up some volunteers from Mr. Emon's homeroom class, such as Ryunosuke Fujiwara, Yoko Morino, Crystal Starr, Junko Hazawa and Masako Muzo (who both volunteered because Crystal did so), Kentaro Ota, Jessica Stonewood, and of course Inaho.

"Well alright," Kira said as she, the Venoct brothers, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton stood in front of all of the fifth graders in the gymnasium of Springdale Elementary, "Now that we're all assembled here, we can get to work on the auditions for the play."

"What play are we going to be doing, by the way?" Crystal asked as she raised a hand.

Pulling out a copy of a script, Kira held it out to show all of the gathered fifth graders. "It's actually an original screenplay, written by an up and coming playwright living here in the Uptown Springdale area. The Venoct brothers and I will be handing out copies of the script here, and you all will have some time to go over them."

"Kira, my brothers and I will be determining who will get what role," Venoct went on, "That way, there won't be any mistakes."

"Of course, we will also take into consideration anyone who wants to audition for a specific role in the play," Shadow Venoct added.

Clapping his hands together, Illuminoct said, "Alright everyone, let's get started!" This drew a round of cheering from all of the fifth graders as some of them proceeded to walk towards Kira, the Venoct brothers, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton so as to pick up copies of the script.

* * *

Roles were handed out/auditioned for, the play was rehearsed, and a few days later on Friday, the fifth graders all came together to perform the play in the Springdale Elementary gymnasium, with all of their parents in attendance. To the relief of Mr. Johnson, Mr. Barton, Kira and the Venoct brothers, not only did the play go over well, but it even received a standing ovation. To her credit, Kira didn't see a hint of annoyance out of any of the parents in attendance, indicating that the parents weren't cheering just because their kids were in the play; the parents all actually enjoyed watching the play.

As families proceeded to pick up their kids and go home, Kira, the Venoct brothers, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton were standing around talking to each other. "It might be a bit premature, but I think that Clint here and I can hold onto our respective jobs," Joe remarked, drawing a nod of agreement out of his co-worker and friend.

"By the way, who's the person who wrote the script for the school play?" Clint asked.

"It was Atticus, actually," Kira began to explain, "He's actually something of a creative writer, and he wants to do writing seriously at some point."

"An aspiring novelist, maybe?" Clint asked, drawing a nod of agreement out of the thirteen-year-old girl who befriends yo-kai.

"Wow," Joe said in a mildly impressed tone, "Leave it to-"

"Yo Joe! Clint!" an adult male voice called out, getting the teachers, Kira and the Venoct brothers to all turn and see Kazuo Emon come walking up to them. About as tall as Joe and Clint, Kazuo had fair skin, dark brownish hair, and he wore a long-sleeved reddish jacket that looked like a track jacket, white pants that had red lines going down the length of the legs on the outer sides, and a pair of brown shoes. Reaching the group, Kazuo said, "That was one heck of a performance our students just did, huh?"

"Well it certainly got the parents who came to watch to cheer," Joe replied, "Here's hoping that it will get said parents to relax their annoyance towards Clint and I."

"Anywho, We ought to catch up with each other," Kazuo said to Joe and Clint, "Why don't we head out to grab some drinks?"

"Well it would be nice to unwind after all of the worry and stress I've been going through lately," Clint remarked as he and Joe proceeded to walk off with Kazuo. Once the three teachers were all gone, Kira and the Venoct brothers all turned to face each other.

"You know," Illuminoct remarked as he, his brothers and Kira watched the three teachers walk off into the distance while talking like good friends, "I get the feeling that things are going to work out for everyone that was involved in this whole affair."

"Me too, Illuminoct," Kira replied. With a single nod, Kira continued, "Me too."

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES CHAPTER NINETEEN

Author's notes:

…Yeah, I decided to change my policy about featuring students from Inaho's class that are not Inaho herself. I also thought that it'd be neat to throw in Inaho's homeroom teacher, featuring him as something of a friend to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barton. Anywho, it might be a while before I get the next chapter of this story out, due to a mix of being on the job hunt in real life and the fact that I still need to think up a plot for chapter twenty of this story.

Side note, due to some of the reviews that I got on some of my other stories, I've taken up a policy of reporting/deleting reviews that I consider to be inappropriate/mean-spirited. It's not that I don't want feedback; I actually crave the constructive criticism that appears in many of the reviews that my stories get. However, there is a fine line between constructive criticism, _destructive_ criticism, and just plain flaming. To that end, there is still the fact that I have yet to come up with names for some of the characters in this story from the series proper, such as Eddie's dad and Bear's dad. I will be considering suggestions from the reviews, but _not_ from guest reviews.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Yo-kai Watch, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Yo-kai Watch Adventures

Special end-of-story chapter: The Yo-kai Awards

A large auditorium was filled to near capacity, the seats occupied by everyone's favorite residents of the Springdale, Harrisville and San Fantastico areas. In fact, not only were there people from those areas, but there was also some shinobi from Konohagakure, a few of the mages from Magnolia Town's resident mage guild Fairy Tail, some of the local youth that lives in Royal Woods, the residents of the Atlas Penthouse in San Francisco's suburb of New Domino; basically, it was a mass gathering of various notable personages, all brought together to celebrate the last big hurrah of the adventures of some certain teens and their supernatural friends.

Walking onto the stage in front of the audience, who all applauded as they took to the podium in the front-center area of the stage, in the auditorium were Light Yagami and Kotaro Tatsumi. When the two guys reached the podium, they held their hands up in a gesture to get everyone to settle back down. "Thank you, thank you," Light said as he and Kotaro got the audience to settle down, "And welcome, everyone, to the Yo-kai Awards, where we will look back on all of the great adventures that helped to bring the respective worlds of humans and yo-kai just a little bit closer to one another."

"And what a series of adventures they were, Light," Kotaro said as he turned to face his co-host, "There was certainly no shortages of fantastical happenings ranging from hilarious to sad and even to romantic. And since things are coming to a close here, I cannot think of a better way to give credit to all of the stand-out moments than with this award ceremony, where we will go over all of Yo-kai Watch Adventure's finest moments and give awards to the ones that stand out from all the rest, the moments that are the cream of the cream of the crop."

The audience applauded again after Kotaro made his little speech about how the finest moments of Kira and Atticus and all of their yo-kai friends were going to be celebrated with the fantastic award ceremony that was being thrown right now. "And we have quite the spread of awards to give out, Kotaro," Light said, "With the first one being for 'Best fight scene in Yo-kai Watch Adventures'. And here to present that award is the man, the myth, the legend himself, Harold Fisher from 'Harold Fisher: Legend of Konoha'."

The audience applauded again as Harold Fisher, and older but still active shinobi from Konoha, walked onto the stage, dressed in a tuxedo much like Light and Kotaro. "Thanks, dudes," the older pink-haired man said as he stood behind the podium on the stage, then said when he turned to face the audience, "And I'd like to thank Yo-kai Watch Adventures for providing some of the most fantastic fight scenes that people could ever get to watch. We have some real zingers, but we were able to narrow the nominees down to a select few."

The Fisher patriarch looked down on the podium where a list was placed, then after reading it for a bit he looked up and said, "Our first nominee is the fight between the Kyubi brothers and Sproink in the Springdale Business Tower, which takes place in chapter two." The audiences cheered a bit as a short clip of that fight was played on the screen behind Harold, Light, Kotaro and the podium.

"Our second nominee," Harold continued as another clip started up, "Is the fight between Dragon Lord and Dracunyan in Springdale elementary at night, which takes place in chapter three." As the respective clip played on the screen, the audience cheered and applauded again. "Our third nominee is the last fight in chapter five," Harold said, "Where Kira, Atticus, Venoct and Kyubi assist Hornaplenty and Swelterrier in fighting SV Snaggerjag."

A video clip of that fight played, which was met with cheers from the audience. "And our last nominee," Harold said, "Is the scene in chapter fourteen where Atticus summons Shogunyan to defeat the Walldin and two impasses." After a clip from that fight scene played to the cheers and applause of the audience, Harold said, "And the winner of the Yo-kai Award for Best Fight Scene is…" The Fisher patriarch opened the envelope that he was holding, pulled out the letter that was inside, and gave it a quick look before looking up at the audience.

"…Dragon Lord's fight against Dracunyan!" Harold announced, prompting the audience to cheer loudly as the winner of the first Yo-kai Award that was being handed out was announced, "And here to accept the award is Dragon Lord's human friend, Kira!" The cheering continued as Kira, dressed in a shimmering sleeveless dress the same color as her usual sleeveless shirt, walked up to the podium and received a golden award that was roughly ten inches tall.

Turning to face the audience, Kira said, "Thank you, everyone. You know, when I was informed that things were being brought to a close here, I was a bit disheartened. But given that I was also told that things would be going out with a bang via this award ceremony and that my character will find use in other works, I was glad and relieved that my career wasn't going to be ending with the story itself." Holding up the award she accepted with her right hand, Kira said, "Here's hoping that I'll get to see you guys in another incarnation of my character in this story!"

The audience cheered after Kira gave her speech, cheering for the thirteen-year-old girl as she left the stage to return to the audience. After Kira had left, followed by Harold, Light and Kotaro returned to standing behind the podium. They themselves were also applauding Kira for all of the work she did during her tenure in Yo-kai Watch Adventures. After the cheers and applause died down enough, Light and Kotaro turned to face the audience.

"I say, Light," Kotaro began, "Miss Kira certainly gave a lot of love to her work in the story, didn't she?"

Nodding once in agreement, Light said, "I couldn't agree more, Kotaro. In fact, if you think about it, love played a rather notable role in Yo-kai Watch Adventures, so much so that there's enough romance abound to give a Yo-kai Award for 'Best Romantic Couple'. And presenting that award is someone who will be appearing in a future BNHA story. Alright everyone, let's hear it for Shoto Todoroki!"

The audience cheered as the dual nature-quirked boy from U.A.'s class 1-A walked onto the stage, dressed similarly to Harold. After standing behind the podium, Todoroki said, "I would just like to take a moment to thank Yo-kai Watch Adventures for all that it had done to give us all entertainment. The fact that I get to work with the minds behind Yo-kai Watch Adventures for a BNHA story that will be released soon is nothing short of exciting for me, and I am looking forward to gracing the same stage as so awesome a predecessor."

Looking down at the list he was given, Todoroki said, "Our first nominee for 'Best Romantic Couple' is Nate Adams and Katie Forester." As a picture of Nate and Katie appeared on the same screen that the video clips from the previous award were played on, Todoroki said, "Fun fact about this couple; in Yo-kai Watch Adventures, Katie was the one who was crushing on Nate, whereas in the series proper for the Yo-kai Watch anime it was Nate crushing on Katie."

After the picture of Nate and Katie was taken down, Todoroki said, "The next nominee is Eddie Archer and Inaho Misora." As a picture of Eddie and Inaho being together went up on the screen, Todoroki said, "Fun fact about Inaho; when her English name was revealed as Hailey Anne Thomas, the writers for Yo-kai Watch Adventures worked that into the story by making the full name for Inaho's character as Inaho Hailey Anne Thomas Misora."

After the picture of Eddie and Inaho went down, Todoroki said, "Our third nominee is Aaron and Lily Adams, the parents of Nate." The audience cheered as a picture of Nate's parents went up on the screen. While the picture of Aaron and Lily was up there, Todoroki said, "Fun fact about this couple; there was going to be a sub-plot where it was discovered that Aaron was actually rather fond of how fat Lily had gotten under the influence of the trio of Hungorges from the first chapter, but this sub-plot had to be scrapped because of Lily finding work in another story, thus not leaving appropriate time to work the sub-plot into a chapter."

After the picture of Aaron and Lily was taken down, Todoroki said, "Our fourth and final nominee is Bear Bernstein and Lulu." After a picture of Bear and Lulu being together went up to the cheers of the audience, Todoroki said, "Fun fact about this couple; the kids themselves were already dating each other before their characters in Yo-kai Watch Adventures started to be put together with one another." The audience applauded the nomination before the picture detailing it went down.

"And the winner of the Yo-kai Award for 'Best Romantic Couple' is…" Todoroki opened the envelope that he was given, pulled the letter that inside out, and read it before looking back to the audience. "…Eddie Archer and Inaho Misora!" the dual nature-quired boy announced to the loud cheers of the audience, "And accepting the award is Eddie Archer!" The headphones-wearing boy, wearing a child's tuxedo, walked up onto the stage and over to the podium, where he was handed the award that he and Misora won by Todoroki.

After receiving the award, Eddie said, "Thank you, Shoto." Turning to face the audience, Eddie said, "And thank all of you for your support. Sadly, Inaho couldn't be here to accept the award with me due to an emergency in the family, but I have no doubt that she would be just as happy to win as I am, if not more so." The audience cheered as Eddie left the stage, followed shortly by Todoroki. After they were gone, Light and Kotaro returned to the podium.

Turning to face Kotaro, Light said, "You know, Yo-kai Watch wouldn't even be as successful as it was without its main selling point, the yo-kai themselves."

"That's right, Light," Kotaro replied, "And since there are roughly as many yo-kai as there are Pokémon, even the writers couldn't fit all of them into Yo-kai Watch Adventures. But boy oh boy, did the yo-kai that managed to make it in have quite the impact! Especially with how some of them first appeared."

Nodding in agreement, Light remarked, "Indeed, Kotaro. In fact, I daresay that first appearances of some of the Yo-kai that starred in Yo-kai Watch Adventures were some of the most impactful moments of the series. Enough so that the next Yo-kai Award is for 'Best first appearance for a Yo-kai character'. And presenting that award is everyone's favorite broomheaded person of less than legal intentions, Crow Hogan."

The audience cheered as Crow Hogan, dressed in a tux, walked up onto the stage and stood behind the podium. "Thank you, Light and Kotaro," Crow said, "And thanks to my parole officer for giving me a lift here to the award ceremony." As the audience chuckled a bit at the joke that Crow made about himself, the broomheaded twenty-one-year-old said, "Anyway, our first nominee is Shogunyan, for his first appearance in chapter fourteen." The audience cheered as the scene where Shogunyan first appeared played on the screen behind Crow.

When that clip ended, Crow continued, "Our second nominee is Dragon Lord, for his first appearance in chapter three." A clip of the scene where Dragon Lord first appeared played on the screen, drawing more cheers from the audience. "Our third nominee is Dandoodle, for his first appearance in chapter sixteen." The audience cheered once more (not to mention chuckle a bit when Dandoodle landed literally flat on his face) when the clip that showed Dandoodle's first appearance was played.

"Our final nominee is Komasan," Crow finished, "For his first appearance in chapter thirteen." The audience cheered and applauded as a clip showing Komasan's first appearance was played on the big screen behind Crow. "And the winner of the award for 'Best first appearance of a Yo-kai character' is…" The drumroll played as Crow opened the envelope he had and took the letter that was in it out. After looking at the letter, Crow announced, "Shogunyan! And accepting the award on Shogunyan's behalf is Atticus!"

The audience applauded as Atticus, dressed in a tuxedo similar to the other guys that have been on stage thus far, walked onto the stage, received the award from Crow, then took to standing behind the podium. "I was quite the honor to work so closely with one of the legendary yo-kai that appeared in Yo-kai Watch Adventures," the thirteen-year-old boy said, "It's a shame that Shogunyan himself couldn't be here as he rushed to the local hospital when he heard that his eight-year-old grandnephew had an asthma attack." Holding up the award that he accepted on Shogunyan's behalf, Atticus said, "Here's hoping that his grandnephew makes it!"

The audience cheered for Atticus, as well as give a few cheers in hopes of Shogunyan's grandnephew recovering, as the thirteen-year-old boy left the stage, followed by Crow. When the two of them had left the stage, Light and Kotaro returned to standing behind the podium as they prepared to introduce the next award and person that would be presenting it.

"Atticus has a point on how it would be nice if that little kid recovers in the hospital," Light said, "It would be a tearjerker if the little guy didn't make it."

"As sad as that sounds, you have a point on how that would make people cry," Kotaro remarked, "And we here at Yo-kai Watch Adventures have had our fair share of moments that brought tears to the eyes of everyone. In fact, there were so many that our next Yo-kai Award is for 'Biggest tearjerker moment in Yo-kai Watch Adventures'. And presenting the award is Bobby Santiago from the various Loud House stories!"

The audience applauded as Bobby Santiago, also wearing a tuxedo, walked onto the stage and stood behind the podium. "What's up, people?" Bobby said, "I needed at least one full box of tissues when I went through all of the tearjerker moments that were submitted, but in the end I was able to narrow the nominees down to the necessary number. I'm doubting that there will be a dry eye out there by the time this award is won."

The Santiago teen opened looked down at the list he had and said, "Our first nominee is the scene from chapter eleven, where Nate's cat Steve hit kit and killed by a vehicle driven by Bear's mother Gilda." A scene was played on the big screen showing a white cloth covering a small body as Nate stood by crying. "Our second nominee is the scene from chapter ten where Inaho overhears Maya and some of the other girls ridicule her before turning around and running away from everyone." The scene that Bobby mentioned played on the big screen behind him for a few moments before fading.

"Our third and final nominee is the scene from chapter four where Foiletta completes the journey to the top of Mount Middleton that she promised to make to a friend of hers when she was still alive as a human," Bobby said before a clip of the scene in question began to play on the big screen that was behind him. When that clip ended, Bobby continued, "There were only three nominees for this one, folks, but even so each scene had placed a lot of impact into this series, so don't go thinking that this one is selling you guys short. Anyway, the winner of the Yo-kai Award for 'Biggest tearjerker moment in Yo-kai Watch Adventures' is…" The Santiago teen paused to open the envelope he had so he could read the letter inside and announce the winner.

"Foiletta!" Bobby declared, "For her performance in the Mount Middleton scene in chapter four! And here to accept the award is Foiletta herself!" The audience cheered as Foiletta, wearing a long-sleeved high school girl's uniform top with a skirt that reached half-way down her shins, walked over to the podium and stood behind it as she accepted the award from Bobby.

With the award in hand, Foiletta faced the audience and said, "Thank you all for this. I mean, seriously, I had no idea that my one odd performance would have brought me such recognition. I cannot even begin to say how honored I am to have won here." The audience cheered and clapped as the female yo-kai left the stage, followed by Bobby. After they left, Light and Kotaro returned to the podium.

"Yeah, that scene she played brought a tear to my eye," Light remarked, "But just as there were sad moments in Yo-kai Watch Adventures, there were also hilarious moments that made me laugh out loud."

"You do have to balance the sad with the funny in order to get a truly wonderful masterpiece," Kotaro remarked in a tone of agreement, "And Yo-kai Watch Adventures knew that full well, what with all of the popular culture references scattered throughout a sign that reference humor is still alive and well. As such, the next Yo-kai Award is for 'Best popular culture reference in Yo-kai Watch Adventures. And here to present the award is Tsukune Aono."

The audience cheered as the student of Yokai Academy walked onto the stage and stood behind the podium. "Thank you, thank you all," Tsukune said, "And boy, am I glad to be here! It is nothing short of a great honor to not only get to attend the Yo-kai Awards, but to present one of the awards to the winner. Not only that, but this is the category that I was looking forward to the most, as I always enjoy a good pop culture reference."

Looking down at the list he had, Tsukune said, "Our first nominee is Illuminoct, for his performance in chapter six which was a clear homage to Gandalf the Gray from the Lord of the Rings series." The audience applauded as a clip of Illuminoct from said chapter was played. "Our second nominee is for the performance of Kira and Swelterrier in chapter nine during their fight against Dismarelda," Tsukune continued, "For its clear parody of a battle from the main series Pokémon games." The audience cheered as a clip from that fight scene played out on the big screen behind Tsukune.

"Our third nominee is the whole of chapter thirteen," Tsukune continued, "As it's a Halloween story anthology that is similar to that of the Treehouse of Horror episodes from The Simpsons." The audience applauded as a clip from one of the segments of that episode began to play. When that clip ended, Tsukune resumed the listing of nominees. "And our final nominee is Atticus and Inaho for their martial arts spar in one of chapter eighteen's flashback scenes," Tsukune said, "As the respective outfits of Inaho and Atticus are a reference to Cammy and Akuma from the Street Fighter series of games." The audience applauded as they watched a clip that showed Inaho and Atticus sparring against one another, not only their outfits referencing fighting game characters, but their spar itself resembling a fight between two player characters.

"And the winner for 'Best popular culture reference in Yo-kai Watch Adventures' goes to…" Tsukune said, taking a pause to pull out the letter in the envelope he had so he could announce the winner. "Illuminoct!" Tsukune declared, "For his Gandalf performance in chapter six! And Illuminoct himself is here to accept the award!" The audience applauded as Illuminoct walked up onto the stage and over to the podium, where he was given the award he won by Tsukune.

Holding up the award that he had just won, Illuminoct said, "Holy crud, I can't believe that I actually won one of these bad boys! Hoo!" The blonde-haired yo-kai pumped both of his fists into the air, with the right one clenched around the award that he won. "Come on, everyone! Say it with me!" Illuminoct said, then he led the audience in shouting, "BILBO BAGGINS!" The audience cheered and laughed as Illuminoct bowed before leaving the stage with Tsukune. When they left, Light and Kotaro returned to the podium.

"It's a darn shame that the story has to end here, Light," Kotaro began, "Not only will we no longer get to see Yo-kai Watch Adventures style humor, but a number of chapters that had been written never even got to be published since the writers had to move on to other works."

"Indeed," Light agreed, "I mean, the characters have already performed those chapters and they were paid for it, but no one will ever get to see the fruits of those labors. We cannot allow those efforts to go unrecognized, which is why the final award of the evening is for 'Best unreleased chapter of Yo-kai Watch Adventures'. And Kotaro, we have someone that you're familiar with to present the award."

Nodding in agreement with Light, Kotaro said, "And familiar with her I am! Here to present the last award for the evening is one of my fellow Zombie Land Saga characters, the very lovely Ms. Sakura Minamoto!" The audience cheered as Sakura, in her zombie appearance while wearing a shimmering dark blue dress with puffy sleeves over the shoulders, walked to the podium on the stage so she could present the last award.

"Thank you, Kotaro-san," the bluish-skinned zombie girl remarked, "And I'm looking forward to working with you when our story gets released." Turning to face the audience, Sakura said, "It's a shame that Yo-kai Watch Adventures is ending here, especially since so many completed chapters never got to be released. At the very least, we can give credit to where credit is due by presenting this last award for the best unreleased chapter." Looking down at the list that had been provided to her, Sakura said, "Our first nominee is 'A warning from the future', where Katie's future-self from the Yo-kai Watch Shadowside series time travels to the current time to warn Kira and everyone else about what bad things end up happening in her time."

The audience applauded as a clip showing future Katie talking to the present version of Kira and the others, which included present Katie, played on the big screen. When that clip ended, Sakura continued, "Our second nominee is 'Kira befriends another legendary yo-kai', where Kira ends up befriending the legendary yo-kai Poofessor." The audience cheered as a clip played on the big screen showing Kira receiving a yo-kai medal from Poofessor.

"Our third nominee is 'Daddy Dummy'," the bluish-skinned zombie girl went on, "Where Aaron and Jason greatly upset Nate and Katie respectively and must work to regain their trust." The audience applauded as a clip showing Aaron and Jason working to try and rebuild broken bonds between them and their respective children began to play. When that clip ended, Sakura said, "Our fourth and final nominee is 'Trouble in two Springdales', where Kira, Atticus and their universe's versions of Nate, Katie, Eddie and Bear visit the universe of the anime series proper."

A clip played on the big screen of the two thirteen-year-olds and their versions of the four main kids walk out of a swirling portal and into the universe of the anime series proper, where Nate crushes on Katie rather than the other way around, and so-on. After that clip ended, Sakura said, "And the winner is…" A drumroll played as Sakura paused to open her envelope and remove the letter inside so she could announce the winner. "…'A warning from the future'!" the bluish-skinned zombie girl announced, "And here to accept the award is Cathy Forester, Katie's older sister who played the role of future Katie!"

The audience applauded as a young adult woman who looked like an older Katie Forester from the Yo-kai Watch Shadowside series walked onto the stage, wearing a shimmering red sleeveless dress. Cathy stood behind the podium as she received the award from Sakura. "Thank you, Sakura," Cathy said. Turning to face the audience, Cathy continued, "And thanks all of you out there as well. It's a shame that my work in Yo-kai Watch Adventures never got released, especially since I was able to work with my little sister Katie on the chapter that I was in. But even so, at least my talent was recognized." The audience applauded as Cathy was led off the stage by Sakura, and when they left, Light and Kotaro returned to the podium.

"Hoo boy, that Sakura girl is quite the talent!" Kotaro remarked, "And I'm looking forward to working with her when 'Saga Stories: A tale of Zombie Land Saga' is released soon."

"I'm always looking forward to new works that are released, Kotaro," Light said, "Especially since the work that I myself was involved with came to an end a short while ago. And let that be a reminder to all of you!" To the audience and other audiences beyond, Light remarked, "Just because one work ends doesn't mean things will go stale. There will always be new stories that are written, new adventures undertaken, new paths explored. The fact that this adventure got to be placed among that prestigious lot is a testament to the impact that Yo-kai Watch has had in its time to entertain the masses."

"Catch you all on the flip side," Kotaro said as he gestured to all audiences, "And good-bye." The audience in the auditorium cheered wildly as Light and Kotaro both took a bow to show their gratitude to being able to be here. The two of them walked off the stage by its right (from their point of view), and when they were about halfway to their goal, the curtain was pulled to cover the stage, bring a great show to a close.

END, YO-KAI WATCH ADVENTURES

Author's notes:

As sad as this is, I have to end the story here. I'm sorry, but I've lost too much motivation for Yo-kai Watch to continue this story; that, plus the job hunt I'm facing right now IRL and other stories that I have just doesn't leave me with a lot of time. But just because I'm ending this story now doesn't mean I'm not grateful to it; on the contrary, this was one of the more fun stories that I had written and got up here, and for that I will always be grateful. I may release the cut chapters as a special anthology, if enough interest is observed, but that will depend on what the future holds for me.

Anyway, this final chapter also carries a few facts concerning future works that I have planned, in case any of you are interested; this final chapter is a love letter not just to Yo-kai Watch Adventures, but to _all_ of my stories. I'm continuing my various Loud House stories, along with some new ones that will be showing up. Likewise, I'm also continuing my Rosario Vampire and Yugioh 5Ds stories, as well as my Naruto story 'Harold Fisher: Legend of Konoha'. And as was detailed here, I've also got a Zombie Land Saga and a BNHA story in the works, so if either of those strike your interest, then keep your eyes peeled.

Thank you, Yo-kai Watch. I'll never forget all that you've done for me.


End file.
